"Exposed: Washington's Role
in Saddam's Oil Plot" by Helga Graham, London Observer, October 21,
1990.
Main
Point
The United States
government encouraged Iraq to take aggressive action against Kuwait.
Summary
Washington gave
Saddam Hussein every indication that they agreed and even encouraged Iraq’s
seizure of Kuwaiti oilfields. One
of Saddam’s closest associates was told to engineer high oil prices in order to
manage their flailing economy and force the increased prices on fellow OPEC
members. Saddam followed U.S.
advice and backed his demands by troop movement on the Kuwait border. Meanwhile, U.S. was still trying
to appease Saddam over his human rights abuses and gave no indication that they
would retaliate against such movements.
All the evidence points to the U.S. complicity with Saddam’s invasion of
Kuwait and not merely a miscalculation of the Iraqi leader’s intentions.
Summary by Ċetta
Mainwaring