Clinton Administration Continues Build-up to Protect Kuwait

Strategic Insights -

The Clinton administration has continued its build-up of troops to protect Kuwait from an Iraqi invasion, with close to 40,000 U.S. troops either in the Persian Gulf or on their way. The administration says there is evidence that Iraq is moving some of its troops back from positions that threaten Kuwait, but other Iraqi units remain poised in the South. As the situation continues to unfold, attention is turning to how to prevent Saddam Hussein from threatening Kuwait again and again.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Clinton administration has deployed close to 40,000 U.S. troops to the Persian Gulf to protect Kuwait from an Iraqi invasion.
  • The administration says there is evidence that Iraq is moving some of its troops back from positions that threaten Kuwait, but other Iraqi units remain poised in the South.
  • The 1991 Gulf War was a crushing defeat for the forces of Saddam Hussein, but it was not yet a total defeat when George Bush stopped the fighting on February 27.
  • Critics said Mr. Bush ended the war too soon, that U.S. forces should have pursued the Iraqi's further.
  • Jeffrey Kemp of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace says the president did what was right, as there was no mandate to move beyond the Kuwaiti border.
  • The Bush administration and the United Nations Security Council tried to restrain Saddam Hussein by passing resolutions that required him to dismantle his weapons of mass destruction, resolutions that imposed severe economic sanctions.
  • The sanctions were an incentive for the Iraqi military to launch a coup, and the Clinton administration continues to maintain that position.
  • Kalio Sheshan of the National Association of Arab-Americans believes that military action against Iraqi forces is premature at this point, and that negotiations with Iraq should be explored to address the issues surrounding the sanctions.
  • Many analysts believe that combat is unavoidable, and a preemptive strike is inevitable if Iraqi forces continue to threaten the Kuwait border.
  • Steve Yatif of Old Dominion University suggests drawing a line through southern Iraq and insisting that most Iraqi troops pull back behind that line.
  • Jeffrey Kemp calls for a permanent military exclusion zone in southern Iraq to prevent Saddam Hussein's troops from returning to threaten Kuwait.

Statistics:

  • Close to 40,000 U.S. troops are either in the Persian Gulf or on their way to protect Kuwait.
  • 155,000 additional American soldiers have been put on alert as part of the build-up.

Sources:

  • "All Things Considered" theme music and narration, May 31, 1993, NPR.
  • Noah Adams, "The White House position has not changed in four years", NPR.
  • Ted Clark, "More from NPR's Ted Clark", May 31, 1993, NPR.
  • "President Bush suspended combat with Saddam Hussein still in power", February 27, 1991, PBS NewsHour.
  • Jeffrey Kemp, "It was a correct decision", Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, May 31, 1993, NPR.
  • Kalio Sheshan, "I am not suggesting that we reward Saddam Hussein", National Association of Arab-Americans, May 31, 1993, NPR.
  • Steve Yatif, "Then, after drawing that line, if Saddam doesn't withdraw his troops", Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, May 31, 1993, NPR.