This Week in History - Iraq invades Kuwait (2 August 1991)

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An extract from Essential Histories 55: The Gulf War 1991

Saddam invades Kuwait

Saddam Husajn fot. z 1990 r.

By spring 1990, Saddam Hussein was desperately seeking a financial solution to his rapidly downward-spiralling economic and political situation. In February of that year at the Arab Co-operation Council in Jordan, the Iraqi leader put forward the idea of a suspension of his country’s wartime debts and the urgent need for extra funding, but his pleas fell on deaf ears among his Arab neighbours. Furthermore, his continual requests for oil quotas to be adhered to in order to halt the slide in the price of oil were also ignored. In fact, the attitude of both Kuwait and the UAE to his calls for a cancellation of wartime debts and more credit were decidedly unhelpful: no debt would be absolved and the only money that Iraq would receive from them would be in the form of charity. This blunt rebuff of Saddam Hussein generated a very dangerous condition for an Arab leader (often underestimated by western politicians) – that of a humiliating loss of face. The collapse of Saddam’s dignity combined with the perilous state of the Iraqi economy brought about a sharp contrast in policy by the summer of 1990.

At the height of July, Iraq adopted a dual-track policy of intense diplomacy allied with military manoeuvres near the border with Kuwait. The diplomatic line consisted of a series of accusations of Kuwait: firstly, that it had stolen oil from Iraq’s Rumaila oilfield (near the Iraq–Kuwait border), estimated to be over $2 billion in value, which should be immediately repaid; secondly, that its loans to Iraq in the 1980s were largely from oil profits due to overproduction (exceeding OPEC quotas), which was harming its neighbour; and thirdly, that Kuwait had a long-held secret agenda to acquire Iraqi territory while Iraq was distracted by the fight against Islamic fundamentalism. The proposed Iraqi solution to these crimes encompassed a huge cash rebate, a price hike in oil prices to at least $25 a barrel, the complete suspension of war debts and a comprehensive financial package to aid the economic reconstruction of Iraq. To support his diplomacy, Saddam concurrently started moving large numbers of the élite Republican Guard towards the border with Kuwait; with just under 40,000 troops in position by the 19 July.

Adrian Cronauer, DJ who inspired the film 'Good Morning, Vietnam' – obituary

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2018/07/23/adrian-cronauer-dj-inspired-film-good-morning-vietnam-obituary/

Adrian Cronauer , who has died aged 79, was a US Armed Forces Radio disc jockey whose stint in Vietnam inspired Barry Levinson’s film Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) a biting satire of the US military effort, starring Robin Williams in best manic, over-the-top form.

Cronauer hosted a four-hour daily radio show, Dawn Buster, during his tour of duty in Vietnam in 1965-66, and like his Hollywood alter-ego signed on each morning with a booming “Gooooood Mooorning, Vietnam.”

This Week in History - The Vietnam War (30 January)

https://ospreypublishing.com/thisweekhistory/


Though the uprising never ensued, the relative ease with which the communist forces penetrated to the center of US control in South Vietnam forever altered the perception of the war in the US. Due in part to the extensive media coverage of the battle, the US largely viewed the ‘great victory’ as a major defeat.

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The following extract from Essential Histories 38: The Vietnam War 1956–1975 details General Pham Hung’s motivations for launching the Tet Offensive and provides a summary of the conflict and its aftermath.

The Tet Offensive

Amerykański szeregowiec z 1. Dywizji Kawalerii Powietrznej w hełmie M1 z pokrowcem maskującym, uzbrojony w karabin XM-177 Commando (krótsza wersja M-16), trzy granaty dymne M-18 i jeden zaczepny M-26 oraz bagnet M-3

Żołnierz Vietcongu z pistoletem maszynowym AK 47 „Kałasznikow” ≥Schwytany Wietnamczyk brutalnie przesłuchiwany przez Amerykanów, 1967 r.

General Pham Hung developed the Tet Offensive as a three-phase plan. In preparation for this massive attack the Viet Cong had, in late 1967, lured US forces into the Vietnamese hinterlands, through a series of attacks and buildups, including the assault on Dak To and the concentration of forces around Khe Sanh. With American forces distant and distracted the Viet Cong began the dangerous task of gathering together a force of 84,000 near the major cities of South Vietnam. By January of 1968 the Viet Cong buildup was complete, and the communists stood ready for their offensive – simultaneous assaults on all of the major cities of South Vietnam, guarded by inferior ARVN opponents. The urban attacks were timed to take place during a ceasefire in celebration of the Tet Lunar New Year. Giap hoped that surprise would lead to initial victories before American troops could react and that seizure of only a few cities would result in the general uprising that would win the war.