ABSTRACT
On the demise of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was formed out of three imperial provinces. The country's history thus started as a dependent British territory, which is in reality how it remained until after World War II, despite formal independence in 1932. Though there were elections as early as 1925, Iraq has never been a democracy. The early years of Iraq's independence from 1932 were marked by political instability. At the end of the Iran-Iraq war, despite using chemical weapons against Iran and against the Kurds, Iraq had been seen by the USA as a factor for regional stability. The revolutionary nature of Iran and in particular the experience of the embassy hostages in 1979-81 made Iraq seems moderate in US eyes. The US administration therefore soft-pedalled its reactions to his speeches in the first half of 1990. They were not alone in doing so. It seemed nobody took Saddam Hussein at his word.
