Invasion of Kuwait
Reasons for Invasion
Despite close foreign relations during the Iran-Iraq War, the relationship between Iraq and Kuwait quickly deteriorated after the war. This happened for a number of reasons, many of which can be attributed to blunders and miscalculations by Saddam Hussein.
Kuwait loaned Iraq $8.2 billion during the Iran-Iraq war, a sum that Hussein did not think he would be expected to repay. When Kuwait refused to pardon the debt, the friendship between the two countries began to strain.
Miscommunication with the United States
On July 25, 1990, the Iraqi High Command met with the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie, to discuss the military activity of Iraq. In this meeting Glaspie stated that "we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait."
On the 2nd of August 1990, the Iraqi military invaded Kuwait. Kuwaiti forces resisted, but were quickly over-whelmed. In the air, Kuwaiti Mirage F1 and A-4 Skyhawk pilots claimed to have shot down several Iraqi helicopters, but none of these claims have been confirmed. Following five weeks of aerial bombardment from US and allied warplanes on targets in Iraq and Kuwait, a 4 day ground war started on 23 February 1991, and Kuwait was liberated.