Ngozi Caleb Kamalu, Ph.D.
Abstract: The relationship between Iraq and the United States is one that has experienced extreme highs and lows, and it now faces an uncertain future in the aftermath of the Gulf War. In the run-up to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the United States response, relations between the two states were fraught with distrust and hate, culminating in a personal animosity between U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. This paper analyzes how the relationship between the United States and Iraq devolved into its current state from the establishment of formal relations to the present, and provides predictions for the future of the relationship under President Clinton. Throughout the Cold War, the United States was heavily invested in Iraq’s neighbor, Iran, as well other Middle Eastern states which served as buffers to the Soviet Union in the north. However, this was done without taking account of either the historical context of their creation or their diverse religious and ethnic populations. Iran and Iraq had long been at odds, for example, and tensions boiled over following the Iranian Revolution in 1979, which brought in a theocratic Shiite government to counter their Sunni-led neighbors. War between the two states ensued with the United States supporting the Iraqis, initiating a form of appeasement of the Iraqi government. This appeasement on the part of the United States government resulted in the failure of the United States to assert their position on international law, ultimately making the United States either intentionally or unintentionally responsible for the Gulf War.
Keywords: Iraq, United States, Gulf War, International Law
