The United States, Iraq, and The Ramifications of War Essays

Operation Desert Storm or otherwise known as the Gulf War was a huge victory for the United States and its allies while at the same time a devastating defeat for Iraq.1 The attack led by the United States on Iraq nearly destroyed the Iraqis military capabilities which forced Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait and led to changing Iraq’s southern border in a way that was in favor of Kuwait. The attack also instigated differences in opinion in Iraq and generally weakened Saddam Husseins regime.2 As Robin Wright stated, â€Å"Operation Desert Storm served as a textbook case of how to deal with aggression in the post-Cold War world†.3 Eight years later after the U.S. victory over Iraq in the Gulf War, the United States remained in an ongoing†¦show more content†¦Of course, the United States foreign policies towards Iraq has changed several times since World War II. Before the Baathist coup in 1958 the United States considered Iraq and Saudi Arabia as their principle al lies. After the coup, the relationship between the two countries had cooled down considerably and the United States started to view Iraq as another radical and unfriendly nation in the Middle East. Under the directions of the Shah, Iran stood as one of the most important allies of the Middle East for the United State. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 and Cold War politics created another shift in United States foreign policies concerning Iraq8. The United States clearly came down on the side of Iraq during the eight year Iran - Iraqi War. The United States military had supplied Iraq with intelligence information to assist in Iraq attacks against Iran.9 The Reagan administration in 1982 took Iraq off of their list of countries which were supporting terrorism, a move that made it possible for Iraq to receive large amounts of resources which could be used to produce weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Throughout the 1980s when the Bush administration was encouraging new loans to the I raqi government in an effort to ease U.S. Iraqi trades, the United States provided Iraq with both indirect and direct economic aid.10 Also, throughout the 1980s the United States consistently turned a blind eye to Iraq’s production and useShow MoreRelatedA Compare and Contrast Analysis of Experiences in the Iraq and Vietnam Wars832 Words   |  4 Pages COMPARE AND CONTRAST EXPERIENCES OF IRAQ VIETNAM: Thousands were killed, and many more were wounded in the Vietnam war, a war that many are to this day still living with the consequences. The Things They Carried, written by William Timothy OBrien. The story takes place in Vietnam, during the war, sometime in the 1960s. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, and his unit are in Vietnam serving for the United States. Jimmy, is in love with a college woman named Martha from back home. 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