Knowledge Tree
Relations (1)
cross_type 4.46 — strongly supporting 21 facts
Saddam Hussein and Saudi Arabia are linked through the geopolitical tensions of the 1990 Gulf crisis, specifically regarding the perceived threat of an Iraqi invasion of the kingdom [1], [2], [3]. This relationship is further defined by diplomatic efforts to mediate between the two parties [4], [5] and historical debates over whether Hussein's military intentions toward Saudi Arabia were genuine or fabricated for political purposes [6], [7], [8].
Facts (21)
Sources
The Persian Gulf TV War by Douglas Kellner (http://www.gseis.ucla ... pages.gseis.ucla.edu 20 facts
accountForrest Sawyer reported on ABC's Nightline on August 3, 1990, that tens of thousands of Iraqi troops were massed along the Saudi Arabian border and that there was fear Saddam Hussein would carry his blitzkrieg across Saudi territory.
perspectiveJames Atkins, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, stated in In These Times (August 29, 1991) that the U.S. deployment was unnecessary because Saddam Hussein was a rational person who would have known that an invasion of Saudi Arabia would trigger a swift U.S. military response due to the Carter Doctrine.
accountOn August 3, 1990, King Hussein of Jordan visited Saddam Hussein in Baghdad, where the Iraqi President indicated he was prepared to make major compromises, including a potential withdrawal from Kuwait, and stated he had signed a nonaggression pact with Saudi Arabia.
claimGovernment officials generally did not believe that Saddam Hussein intended to invade Saudi Arabia, although the narrative of an imminent invasion was used to build public support for the U.S. war effort.
accountSaddam Hussein communicated to U.S. chargé d'affaires Joseph Wilson that Iraq was interested in establishing normal relations with the United States and denied reports of Iraqi military deployments along the Saudi border, characterizing them as fabrications intended to justify aggression against Iraq.
claimMary McGrory claimed in her Washington Post column that Saudi Arabia was in imminent danger of being invaded by Saddam Hussein.
quoteABC White House correspondent Brit Hume reported on August 7, 1990, that Saddam Hussein told the U.S. chargé d'affaires that he intended to claim Kuwait as his own and that intelligence reports indicated an 'imminent threat to Saudi Arabia' from Iraqi forces.
accountFormer national security adviser Robert McFarlane cited a Washington Post story as evidence that Saddam Hussein was not going to leave Kuwait and that U.S. military intervention in Saudi Arabia was necessary.
accountThe London-based Mideast Mirror reported that King Hussein of Jordan brought a peace proposal from Iraq to President George H.W. Bush, in which Saddam Hussein expressed willingness to negotiate a withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait, provided that U.N. sanctions were lifted and the U.S. military buildup in Saudi Arabia ended, with the exception of the restoration of the al-Sabah clan in Kuwait.
accountUnited Press International reported on December 13, 1990, that Algerian President Chadli Benjedid was one of the few Arab leaders maintaining communication with both Saddam Hussein and the Saudi Arabian leadership, noting his history of successful mediations, such as the release of U.S. hostages in Iran in 1980.
perspectiveKing Hussein of Jordan argued that if Saddam Hussein had intended to invade Saudi Arabia, he would have moved immediately when the Saudi army was small and untested.
quotePatrick Tyler reported in the Washington Post: "Saddam called in the ranking U.S. diplomat in Baghdad, and told him categorically that Kuwait now belongs to Iraq and there was no going back, according to Administration officials. 'It's a done deal,' one U.S. official said, characterizing Saddam's message. Another official said Saddam appended a specific warning that if Saudi Arabia shuts down the Iraqi crude oil pipelines that cross the Saudi desert to the Red Sea, Iraq will attack the kingdom. The warning further stated that if American forces intervene in the region, Iraq will 'embarrass' the United States, the official said."
quoteIn an August 9, 1990 editorial titled 'The U.S. Stands Up. Who Else?', the New York Times supported President George H.W. Bush's decision to commit U.S. forces to Saudi Arabia, stating: 'President Bush has drawn a line in the sand, committing U.S. forces to face down Saddam Hussein....On balance, he has made the right choice in the right way.'
quotePatrick Tyler wrote in a Washington Post summary article: "The initial move to seize Kuwait was relatively painless. But the next step that Saddam reportedly threatened yesterday--a possible invasion of Saudi Arabia--would pose immense difficulties for the Iraqi leader, forcing his army to operate far from home, at the end of long supply lines, in the intense summer heat of the desert" (p. A9).
accountOn August 7, 1990, State Department spokesperson Margaret Tutweiler described Iraqi troops as massing on the border and presented Joseph Wilson's meeting with Saddam Hussein negatively, reinforcing the narrative that Iraq would not leave Kuwait, would not negotiate, and was about to invade Saudi Arabia.
claimIn a Washington Post column titled 'Force Hussein to Withdraw,' Jim Hoagland asserted that Saddam Hussein had gone to war to gain control of the oil fields of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
claimThe transcript of the meeting between Wilson and Saddam Hussein suggests that Hussein was willing to negotiate a solution to the Gulf crisis and had no intention of invading Saudi Arabia.
accountThe New York Times reported on August 5, 1990, that an Arab mediation summit was postponed, noting that President Saddam Hussein was not prepared to attend and Saudi Arabia feared meeting without him would be perceived as an anti-Baghdad initiative.
claimJohn Bulloch and Harvey Morris argued in 1991 that an Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia never seemed likely, despite public discourse regarding Saddam Hussein's plans to attack the kingdom.
accountDiplomatic sources claimed in a December 18, 1990, United Press International report that Algerian President Chadli Benjedid attempted to arrange a meeting between Saddam Hussein and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, but the Saudi kingdom discouraged the effort by failing to invite Benjedid to Riyadh.
Iran's Proxy Strategy and the Extent of Surrogate Autonomy - AHS alexanderhamiltonsociety.org 1 fact
claimTehran's role as the regional opposition to Saudi Arabia became more pronounced following the removal of Saddam Hussein in 2003.