ABSTRACT
On 2 August 1990, in the space of seven hours, the Iraqi army invaded and overran Kuwait, leaving the international community to face an unexpected fait accompli. International efforts then focused on forcing the Iraqi army to withdraw from occupied Kuwait. Judging from official Iraqi statements, Baghdad based this strategy on two foundations that it regarded as certain: the “ghost of Vietnam,” and the Israeli connection. Judging from the Iraqi deployment, the high command prepared for attacks on the Kuwaiti front alone, and did not seriously consider the possibility of an enemy ground offensive against Iraqi territory. Military commanders, who generally function under political constraints, can only envy the almost totally free hand given to US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.
