U.S. Alliance against Saddam Sputters: Kurds, Kuwait Viewed Differently

Sieff, Martin, The Washington Times (Washington, DC)

When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990, the Bush administration put together an enormous and unprecedented international coalition to drive him out. It dispersed as quickly as members of one of the Kurdish factions in northern Iraq.

The one-time alliance included countries on both sides of the political spectrum: the most conservative monarchy in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia, and a radical, anti-Western socialist tyranny, Syria. Israel joined with several Arab nations technically at a state of war with it. Regional archenemies Turkey and Syria briefly buried their hatchet to support the U.S.-led moves against Saddam.

Even radical Islamic Iran, the most bitter enemy of Saudi Arabia, stood aside and tacitly assisted the U.S.-led coalition by refraining from attempting any acts against it.

But when President Clinton ordered U.S. cruise missile strikes against Iraq last week in retaliation for Saddam's drive on the Kurdish city of Irbil, many of America's most important Gulf war allies either condemned the retaliation or - at best - stayed silent, even when the action appeared to be in their own interests.

"The developments do not augur well for the people of Iraq or stability in the region," said Foreign …

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Publication information: Article title: U.S. Alliance against Saddam Sputters: Kurds, Kuwait Viewed Differently. Contributors: Sieff, Martin - Author. Newspaper title: The Washington Times (Washington, DC). Publication date: September 11, 1996. Page number: 13. © 2009 The Washington Times LLC. COPYRIGHT 1996 Gale Group.

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