Secret Dossier

by Pierre Salinger and Éric Laurent

This book provides an account of the events preceding the Gulf War, with particular emphasis on the diplomatic background to the conflict. It includes detailed descriptions of meetings between Saddam... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 014015969X
• ISBN13: 9780140159691
• Release Date: May 1991
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 241 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Behind the Scenes of the Gulf War

In August of 1988, the Iran-Iraq war came to an end. Iraq claimed to be the victor even though the terms of the war were a status quo ante bellum. At the beginning of the war, Iraq had $30 billion in reserves. By the end Iraq was $100 billion in debt. Iraq's revenue was 90% dependent upon oil. One day after the Iran-Iraq war ended, Kuwait decided to violate it's OPEC agreement and increase its oil production. In particular Kuwait intended to extract more oil from Rumailah, a border region claimed by Kuwait and also recognized as a part of the province of Basra. Saddan Hussein decided upon a course of action. Salinger and Laurent give their readers engrossing reading of the negotiations that led up to the war. In retrospect, one can not help but wonder how a US ally (until the end of the Iranian war) became a US enemy. One can not help but wonder at the mis-negotiations. In the early 1990's the US had its attention turned toward the fall of the Iron Curtain. On July 25, 1990, US Ambassador April Glaspie informed Saddam Hussein that the US had *no* interest in border disputes between Iraq and Kuwait. Eight days later, Iraq made Kuwait its 19th province.