Iran Iraq War

U.S. Intervention in Middle East Conflicts: Iran-Iraq Conflicts: The relations between Iran and Iraq were hugely affected by Islamic Revolution as Iraq's president was worried that the emerging Shi'a regime in Iran would provoke uprisings in Iraq. Actually, Iraq became increasingly worried that the Islamic Revolution that emerged in Iran could spread to the country and topple the existing regime while replacing it with a theocracy.

As Iraq's president was concerned that the Algiers Accord would be dismantled and not followed or obeyed because of the new Islamic Republic, he regarded this as a serious threat to the country's borders and sovereignty. Iraq became a more populist country several years before the emergence of the Islamic Revolution as the doors to trade liberalization were opened in the country.

A war against Iran was considered as a suitable option by Saddam Hussein, Iraq's president, to build nationalist sentiments and spirit and lessen the likelihood of a Shi'a uprising or Iran's ability to obtain ideological ground in Iraq (Jacek, 2011). As part of its intervention strategies in this conflict, the United States together with the international community chose to support Iraqi violence during the war.

Since the beginning of the conflict, the United States was supportive of the war because of the fear factor and concerns of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. There are various reasons that have been attributed to America's intervention in the Iraq-Iran war as part of U.S. foreign policy. First, America viewed the conflict as an opportunity to recoup its losses from the Iranian revolution as its main goal was to weaken and confine Iran in order to restrict its regional influence.

Secondly, after weakening Iran through squandering most of the human and material resources of the revolution, the other goal of America's intervention on the conflict was to weaken Iraq. Weakening of Iraq was to ensure that it wouldn't develop as a regional power that could challenge U.S. dominance. Iraq-Kuwait Conflict: In the period between 1989 and 1990, the Kuwait kingdom was over-producing oil and lessening its costs to an extent that Iraq was losing approximately $14 billion in revenue.

As a result, Iraq started complaining that the Kuwaitis were stealing its oil through the use of diagonal drilling technology into the huge Rumaila old field, most of which is inside Iraqi territory. While Iraq continued to complain, Kuwait refused to work out plans that could permit Iraq to access the Persian Gulf. The extent of the conflict was realized in May 1990, when Iraq's president, Saddam Hussein, indignantly complained regarding Kuwait's economic warfare policy against Iraq in an Arab League meeting.

During this meeting, Hussein hinted that Iraq would take military action if Kuwait didn't change its over-production of oil. An analysis of United States intervention in this conflict shows that America interfered in and provoked the dispute between Iraq and Kuwait. Since America was aware of the impending military response by Iraq against Kuwait, the United States capitalized of Iraq's move to conduct a long-planned military intervention in the Middle East.

In addition to increasing economic pressure on Iraq as part of its policy, the United States adopted a dramatic change in its military doctrine and strategy toward Iraq (Becker, 1991). United States intervention in the Iraq-Kuwait conflict is considered as an attempt to continue with its strategy to weaken Middle East countries.