The Gulf Ward has produced consequences that are too bad for the
whole world. It will, of course, he said that the price paid was worth the
aggression and the restoration of legitimacy although some world leaders
still hold the view that a good case could have been made for Iraq’s claim
of sovereignty over Kuwait, and also that Kuwait behaved in a provocative
Salah family in Kuwait becomes suspect when the first act of the emirate
authorities after the liberation was the impose martial law for a year
manner in the earlier months of 1990. Likewise, the legitimacy of the Al-
which, protest, was reduced to six and then the three months.
Kuwait took a tentative step towards democracy on April 8 when the
Emir, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah, assured the Kuwait nation that the
elections would be held in 1992 and the regime would consider a role for
women in the political process. Delivering the traditional address on TV
before the end of the holy month of Ramzan the Emir also asked foreign
troops to remain in Kuwait to repel any act that “the tyrant might embark
upon so long as he is in power”, an obvious reference to the Iraqi
President Sadam Hussain. This was the ruler’s first public speech since he
returned to Kuwait from London.
While the Gulf war brought Kuwait freedom from Iraq, a lot of
damage has been done to the political infrastructure of the Arab world.
The Arab grouping, already fragile, has been split in half and its disunity
made worse by the political split happening to coincide with the
geographical divide the divide between the Maghreb, the western half of the Arabs in North Africa, and the Meshrek, the eastern half in the heve
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya plus Sudan and Yemen, were stron
Somewhat surprisingly all the five Maghreb states, Mauritan
and Egypt, backed Kuwait. That is why there is no real “Arab solution
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, The U.A.E and Oman plus Sy
Pro Iraq while in the East the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Counc
Emotional talk of unity with the Arab family has taken a very hard knock
And without unity the Arab states, despite their size, numbers,
strategic location, do not carry much weight in the world.
set back because the victorious pro-Kuwait states, with the possible
The hope for the democratisation of the Arab world also received
exception of Egypt, have non-representative governments. And the no
I will be the leading member of this group and the Saudis make no bones
democratic tendency can only be accentuated by the fact that Saudi A
about Kuwait’s very tentative move towards a parliamentary system. The
about not being in favour of democracy. The Saudis were suspicious e
war emphasised the internal splits within various Arab countries because
with which to beat the unpopular anti-Iraq regimes. This was the case
Morocco (in Algeria and Tunisia the demonstrators wanted their
governments to be more actively pro-Iraq), in Egypt fear of student protes
repression in Syria and Saudi Arabia. The Arab polity has been over a
brought the shut down of the Universities. There was fierce governmental
opposition parties exploited the popular pro-Iraq feeling to use it as a stick
weakened polity.
Much of the pro-Iraq demonstrations were, in fact, led by anti US
and anti-Western Islamic fundamentalists who politically benefited and
were strengthened by the Kuwait crisis. This lurch toward
fundamentalism has been particularly noticeable in a country like Jordan
where the authorities and a majority of the people do not favour
fundamentalism.
The Gulf War has greatly weakened the independence,
alignment and the honour and dignity of the Arab victors not only because
of Iraq’s defeat but also because the anti-Iraq group is very much under
the leadership of the US. The non-aligned countries played almost no par
in the crisis, politically or diplomatically. The Gulf War has enhanced the
dangers inherent in a unipolar world of American hegemony. when the United States took control of 20,000 square miles of
atrol Iraq, the ancient Mesopotamia, now transformed into the latest
western colony of Mesopotamerica, a mere 90 minutes drive from the Shia
Such a colonialist action makes clear that the real US War aim the
destruction of Iraq. Sadam Hussain’s Iraq presented no threat to the U.S.,
Saudi Arabia it had the opportunity to do that on August 2, when that
U.K. Egypt or Saudi Arabia; if it had wanted to invade and capture part of
country lay wide open to the Iraqi forces in Kuwait. Even the Iraqi threat
to its traditional enemy, Syria, was merely theoretical.
The only country that was under real Iraqi threat was Israel, and it
s because the Jewish state in the local strategic ally of the U.S., and
because the Israelis and the pro-Israel Zionist lobby in the U.S. control
that country’s West Asia policy, and because Israel remains the enemy of
Palestinians and of the Arabs in General that there is so much more anger
than before against the Americans.
In the other parts of the world, especially the third world, the anger
is directed at the American overkill, and also because the peace settlement
that is envisaged almost demands the removal of Sadam Hussain, a matter
that should be left to the Iraqi people to decide.
Clearly the main gainer in this war has been Israel by playing the
clever tactic of first threatening to join the fighting and expanding the war
and than claiming credit and material advantage for not joining in. Israel
was the only country in the world that was happy because of the war and
which wanted it to continue.
The end of the Gulf War signals the beginning of more critical (and
possibly longer) economic wars. The past-war era will witness new trade
skirmishes that the US will have with Japan or Germany or these between
the organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the rest of
the world.
Most of these economic battles will centre around international
crude oil prices. Opposing interest will move the prices in opposite
directions. The U.S, OPEC, Russia and other oil exporting countries will
try to stabilise the price at our $25 a barrel. But Japan, Germany and the
Third World importers will be happy with anything less than $20. Meanwhile highlevel U.N. mission in Kuwait has assessed the low
civilian population during the country; occupation by Baghdad. The
others, not involved directly in the war, to meet a good portion of the Gul
mission was led by Abdul Rahim former U.N. under secretary General.
The United States administration has urged Germany, Japan and
had gained substantially an account of the earlier higher prices. Besides,
war expense along with Saudi Arabia and the oil exporting countries which
a substantial portion of the cost of war operations and damage to use
desalination systems and the alike. Japan and Germany has agreed to mee
Kuwait would have to incur a heavy expenditure in reviving the economy
and over coming the severe damage to oil installation, power stations,
military equipment and property. Japan has indicated that it would be
aid for the frontline countries in addition to the earlier commitments of $2
willing to provide $7.5 billion for the war effort and another $2.3 billion
billion for the war effort and another $2 billion to help Egypt, Turkey a
not witnessed
The stock, oil, capital and currency markets have thus Jordan.
any convulsive developments except for the difficulties of expatriates in
Iraq and Kuwait are directly affected and there is no reason to be worried
cashing their holdings of west Asian currencies, only the currencies of
and the international lending institutions agreed to help the affected nations
the war did not last long and there was no upsurge in oil prices, the 9-7
about the strength of currencies of the other West Asian countries. Since
in overcoming the strain of the war effort, though special attention
given to a few Asian countries and other oil importing LDC’s that borea
very heavy burden.
considerable hardship to consumers and market values for edible c
In Pakistan, the upturn in prices for essential commodities caused
level in recent years. With he dislocation in transport services due to the
pulses and burn daily edible commodities products have been at the highes
there has been hectic speculative activity in the deficit regions. It i
shortage of high speed diesel oil and a cutback in imports of edible oils
surprising that even cereals have been quoting higher and the prospects fo
a achieving a record output of 180 million tons in the current season
not had any dampening effect on the prices of goods by traders.