The occupation of kuwait in 1990

It was nearly five in the morning in France when the phone rang in the room where Mr. Muhammad Al-Mutawwa was staying at "Nkrescu" Hotel in "Nice", where he was in the company of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, who was on a private visit to France.

The caller was Mr. Tariq Al Moayad, the former Media Minister, who told Mr. Muhammad that Iraq had begun at dawn today, in Bahrain timing, a massive invasion of the State of Kuwait, and hoped he could inform His Highness Sheikh Khalifa immediately.

At first Mr. Muhammad Al Mutawa hesitated before calling Sheikh Khalifa, especially that they have arrived to Nice from London and thought that His Highness might be still exhausted. However, the matter was too urgent to be postponed; Mr. Mohammd was surprised to know that is Highness was awake.

His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman and His Highness Sheikh Saed Al Abdallah, the Emir of the country, discussing the effects of war against Kuwait.

Sheikh Isa bin Salman, the Emir of the country, called him some time before four to inform him of this event.

The instructions of His Highness the Prime Minister to the Director of his office were to make the arrangements to return immediately to the Bahrain on commercial aviation, as the royal plane was not ready at that time, and the fastest way to return was through London route.

His Highness remained silent on the journey back; thinking of the dimensions of this dangerous development; His Highness, like all Arab leaders, did not expect such action by the Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. He tried to think for the meaning and the reasons for this act that is far from our Arab and Islamic values, but also from all the laws and norms of international legitimacy. His Highness did not take long to reach the conviction that the issue is much more than a border dispute between two countries, and that this war warned of serious consequences for the security and stability of the region. This required the utmost wisdom and the utmost precaution in facing all the existing possibilities.

Upon the arrival of His Highness to the homeland, he has been informed that within less than eight hours, the Iraqi, invading forces have tightened its control over all parts of the State of Kuwait, and that was only after less than one day of the failure of the Kuwaiti-Iraqi talks that were held in Jeddah.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud had made great efforts to prevent this disaster from happening.

His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman and His Highness Sheikh Saed Al Abdallah, the Emir of the country, discussing the effects of war against Kuwait.

It was a surprise to all that Iraq returned to its false claims of Kuwait and invaded it ... This prompts us to re-surf the papers of the history of this problem, according to documents approved by the.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, there were a host of variables in the forces around Kuwait, which had implications and effects on the Ottoman . Kuwaiti relations. Among these variables was the opening of the Saudi Al Ehsae and demolishing the powers of Bani Khalid, and the growing influence of the Ottoman influence in Iraq after it succeeded in eliminating "Daoud Pasha," the last Mamluk ruler in Baghdad in 1831, and the growing British influence, which was crawling from Mosqat to the southern coast of the Gulf after the signing of the peace treaty in 1820, and the subsequent imposition of a treaty on maritime truce on the Gulf emirates, followed by the British pressure on Kuwait to be bound by the treaty and join the agreements of the marine armistice.

The rulers of Kuwait at that time rejected this despite Britains threats to stop dealing with the Kuwaiti ships in the ports of India.

In February 1892, the Governor of Kuwait Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah met with the British political resident in the Gulf and informed him that he look forward to support the British against attempts to interfere in the affairs of his country by the Ottoman authorities. Initially the British side showed reluctance to approve, but he began to change his position in the light of what has been brought to his attention by the gathering of the Ottoman forces in Basra in preparation to attack Kuwait and the disposal of Sheikh Mubarak.
In addition to the fierce European competition in the Gulf, which might tempt any other European power to help Kuwait, thus, the British will lose a valuable opportunity.

Accordingly, Colonel "Mid", the British Resident in the Gulf arrived in Kuwait on the 23rd of January, 1899, and an agreement was signed with Sheikh Mubarak that stipulated that "he is given the Covenant and should consider himself, his heirs and his successors as ruler of the country forever.

He should not accept an agent in his land or a representative from another country in Kuwait or in another piece of land that belongs to it without the consent of the British government. He does not sell or lease or mortgage or otherwise transfer to a congregation or to any state without the approval of the British government. "

The British government wanted, before the announcement of the Convention in 1899, to be assured of the safety of its legal position regarding this matter. This led Lord "Curzon", the Deputy King in India, to assign the British resident in the Gulf, Colonel "Campbell", to examine the status of Kuwait and its subordination to the Ottoman State.

Colonel Campbells report is considered a reference on the nature of relations between Kuwait and the Ottoman Empire; the report had been adopted by the government in London in declaring its explicit protection of Kuwait. This report has pointed out that the Ottoman state depends on its demands that Kuwait belongs to its territories in the allegation that its original inhabitants had come from "Umm Qasr" in the south of Basra. However, the reports available in the archives of the government of Bombay indicate that the original population of Kuwait had come from Najd. The British official report had also proved that there was no actual Ottoman control over Kuwait.

Upon all this, that famous British report came out saying that Kuwait was not affiliated at any time to the Ottoman State. This report had been also adopted by Lord "Latzdon" in his statement presented at the House of Lords in 1903 that Kuwaits Sheikh was subject to the British protection, and that the British government is linked with him in special treaties and conventions, which is considered the first statement from a British official regarding a British protectorate in Kuwait.

On the other hand, Britain had the view that there was a clear legal contradiction between the prevention of the Ottoman troops to disembark in Kuwait and raising the banner of the Ottoman Empire by the Kuwaits Sheikh. Later the British government asked Sheikh Mubarak to replace the Ottoman banner with another, but he objected because his point of view was that he raises the Ottoman flag as a Muslim and not as a subordinate of the Ottoman state. This problem has persisted with its conflicting nature between the rules of international law and religious beliefs without finding a solution a relatively long time until it was settled in July Convention in 1913, which approved Sheikh Mubaraks use of the Ottoman flag but by adding the word "Kuwait" to the corner of the flag if they wish to do so.

Thus, the problem of drawing the borders between Kuwait and Iraq was one of the traditional problems created by colonialism and bequeathed to states of the region in order to remain a potential source of conflict and instability. Because the conditions that prevailed in the Gulf region until after the mid-eighteenth century, was not coming on the basis of the sovereignty of the state, however, the political boundaries as they are known today were not common at that time. But when the political formations in the Gulf region became keen to assert their identity, the borders problems began to impose themselves with the help of imperialist countries which were having conflicting interests and influence in the Gulf.

The problem between Iraq and Kuwait was one of the most prominent of those problems that began to take shape during the second half of the 18th century. However, the agreement reached between the British and the Ottomans, who were haggling the colonial domination of the Gulf in the 29th of July, 1913, about the borders was aimed to relatively reduce the severity of this problem first, and then to serve as a basis for the process of demarcation of the boundaries between Iraq and Kuwait later.

At the time when the First World War - which broke out a year after the signing of the referred to Convention - was the cause of calming the situation and forgetting the problems of the borders in the Gulf, the planning of borders between Iraq and Kuwait was confirmed based on what had been reached in the agreement in 1913, after about ten years. It so happened that the Sheikh of Kuwait sent in March 31, 1923 a letter to "Major Moore," who held the post of British political agent in Kuwait, in which he requests to be informed about the borders of his country with Iraq. When the British Custody of Iraq was ended in 1932 and joined the League of Nations, the British High Commissioner in Baghdad, "Francis Hmfres" sent a letter to the Deputy President of the Iraqi Council of Ministers Mr. Jaafar Al askari in the 16th of July, 1932, requesting to set the existing border between Iraq and Kuwait according to the 1913 convention. Hence, the border problem between Iraq and Kuwait returned once again, but under new conditions, which led to the escalation of the crisis in new directions.

After the announcement of the Iraqi Prime Minister Mr Nuri Al Said of his non-acceptance of the existing borders between the two countries, he sent his reply that carries this meaning to the British High Commissioner in the 21st of 1932.

Upon this, the Governor of Kuwait sent a letter to the British political agent on the 10th of August of the same year informing him of his agreement on the demarcation of the borders, and this was a signal that the problem will calm but for a while.

It was possible to see a final solution for the borders problem between Iraq and Kuwait when Britain and Iraq entered in negotiations in 1939, but the problem continued and had taken a new turn when the former Iraqi president Abdul Karim Kassem announced his annexation of Kuwait in June 1961. He even sent a number of Iraqi military units to implement what he called for. Kuwait, on the other hand, asked the protection of the British troops. Whilst the dispatch of Arab forces to Kuwait to replace the British forces was an excellent experience for the establishment of a unified Arab Defense Forces, the toppling of Abdel-Karim Qassem in February 1963 led to the diminishing of the idea of establishing such a force.

It also led to the suspension of the Iraqi government from demanding annexation of Kuwait temporarily.

His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, has talked to me about that period, saying: "After those threats by the Iraqi president in 1961, the Governor of Kuwait sent to the father, God bless his soul, to request the assistance of the British forces stationed in Bahrain. My father did not hesitate for one moment to provide assistance to the brotherly State of Kuwait.

The exchange of letters between His Highness the father and the British Resident are the greatest evidence of the personal attention given by His Highness, the father, to this situation. "

On the morning of the 4th of July, 1961 His Highness Sheikh Salman bin Hamad of Bahrain met with the political resident Mr. William Los with the presence of the Commander of the British Forces in the Middle East. Immediately following this meeting, the British political resident sent a note in this regard that states: " the revered Hamid Al Shayem, His Highness Sheikh Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the governor of Bahrain, after greetings and respect As I told Your Highness this morning, when I had the honor to meet you with the Commander of the British Forces in the Middle East, I have been ordered to convey to you the thanks and appreciation of Her Majesty's government for the friendship and cooperation you have shown regarding the recent moves made by the outgoing British forces to help Kuwait. Her Majesty's government highly appreciates the old friendship existing between the United Kingdom and Bahrain, which increased upon the recent incidents; please accept my utmost thanks and appreciation.

On the same day, His Highness Sheikh Salman sent a reply to that letter; its words expressed well the Bahraini-Kuwaiti relations when it stated: "His Excellency Sir William Los, the esteemed political resident in the Gulf, after greetings and respect, we have received your Highness letter of the 4th of July, 1961, in which you stated that you have been ordered to convey the thanks and appreciation of Her Majesty's government for our friendship, and the cooperation we have shown on the recent moves by the outgoing British forces to help Kuwait, and the appreciation of Her Majesty's government of the old friendship between the United Kingdom and Bahrain, which tightened upon these recent incidents.

To answer, we would say that the facilities we have provided for the movement of British troops heading for Kuwait, was something imposed on us by our Islamic and fraternal duty towards a dear brother and a brotherly country, and that was only some of our duty towards Kuwait and the Governor of the country and his people with whom we have ties of brotherhood and friendship; we have all the respect and appreciation for them.
It is no secret that we, and all our friends, have resented the doings of the Prime Minister of Iraq, and we hope that God reconciles all for the good and welfare of all. We hope you deliver our thanks to Her Majesty's government for its sincere cooperation and good spirit towards Kuwait. We also pray to God to tighten our strong ties of friendship and guide us all to cooperate for the good of all. Finally, I offer you my sincere thanks for your letter, and we wish you every success and happiness. "

The recurrence of the Iraqi allegations of Kuwait, which were not based on any legitimate or legal basis, required some time to come into view. The new Iraqi attempt to annex Kuwait came at the hands of President Saddam Hussein after about 27 years of the latest attempt. The attempts and the tremendous efforts made by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz and the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad and other presidents and leaders of some other Arab states, were in vain. They could not find a solution to this grave crisis and contain it in the Arab world arena, but all those efforts went unheeded and did not yield any positive results. The Iraq's occupation of Kuwait continued, which led to the outburst of the crisis beyond the Arab control, after the failure of the Arab League to find a solution to it because of the intransigence of the Iraqi regime.

Under the umbrella of the United Nations, and in cooperation with many of its members, President George Bush, President of the United States of America then, made extraordinary efforts to find a peaceful solution to this crisis. But his attempts in this area also failed.

The efforts of the United Nations to persuade Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait also failed because Iraq did not listen to the warnings and did not give any attention to the calls of many world leaders, who had gone to Baghdad to persuade Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait peacefully.

He ignored the calls made by the leaders of many countries of the world, including the Egyptian President Mubarak, who sent 27 calls to Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait! It had become clear that things are going to war.

The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was one of the most difficult incidents for His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman. He said to me in that regard: "The Arabs passed in the most difficult situations of crisis, disintegration and political divisiveness. The Gulf situation could have been better with the joint coordination away from the subsidiary problems that existed at that time; how I wished that the Arab States take one stand, the Gulf in particular, a coherent respective of the days during the Iraqi-Iranian war. "

During that period, in which the United Nations and many other nations were trying to persuade Iraq to withdraw from the Kuwaiti territory, it has become clear to the political leadership in Bahrain that war was the strongest possibility, and it was agreed to take several precautionary measures. Bahrain did not hesitate for one moment to work and fulfill its duty towards its brotherly neighbor, Kuwait, whatever the sacrifices and whatever the consequences were. It opened its doors welcoming Kuwaiti brothers who have been forced to leave their country upon the hellish invasion. Bahrain took all measures to expedite the delivery of housing and a dignified life for the Kuwaiti brothers in this ordeal, and it has also opened its airspace, sea and land to the international efforts aimed at the restoration of legitimacy to the land of Kuwait.

When the likelihood of war increased, various organs of government, under the guidance and direct supervision of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman, started a huge campaign to uplift the readiness of the country for all possibilities. This included directing citizens and residents in anticipation of any emergency in the event of strikes or any other possibility of the war; impact of the Iraqi threat to wage a chemical war, has incited the panic and fear of many, which urged some residents to leave Bahrain. On the other hand, and as a result, citizens began in the largest purchases movement in the history of the country in order to supply materials for the storage of needs and food supplies and others.

Here, we must commend with pride, the role of the government to control the prices and providing stock food, medicine and all other necessary precautions. The efforts made by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman personally in following up the situation in the country, during his daily tours of inspection to various enterprises and institutions, had a great impact in controlling the rhythm of life, and scheming all matters and affairs. Thus, life went on in spite of the potential high risk, which Bahrain was very close to.

When the time period set by the United Nations notice for the Iraq's withdrawal from Kuwait had ended at 2 a.m. on the 16th of January, 1991, The Coalition Forces aircraft launched its first raids on Iraqi positions inside Kuwait and Iraq. The military facilities provided by Bahrain to the coalition forces were no secret, which made Bahrain together with Saudi Arabia be on a second line of confrontation in the war. Bahrain might be the only country in the region to stop the movement of civil aviation, which added to the burden of the economic crisis which knocked Bahrain, and which increased the losses of Bahrain to two and a half billion dollars. Bahrain suffered for more than five years from the consequences of these loses of.

Bahrain also contributed in saving a lot of important Kuwaiti documents, including its assistance in the smuggling of computer disks containing Kuwaiti detailed information about the population from Kuwait to Bahrain. This has enabled the Bahraini experts, with the assistance of Dutch and French professionals, to decipher this information and to restore the information and hand it over to the Kuwaiti government in exile. This information about the Kuwaiti population statistics were sent to the United Nations and contributed to the empowerment of the Kuwaiti government to refute the Iraqi claims.

Sheikh Isas air base, situated on the south of Bahrain, played an important role in the air battles during the war, which resulted in the firing of three Iraqi Scud missiles that missed the base. There were no casualties. Moreover, an Iraqi Scud missile fell in the vacant land south of Bahrain and did not cause any damage.

In the early hours of the morning of the 28th of February, 1991, the coalition forces have succeeded in the liberation of Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation after a land battle that lasted only four days. The crisis revealed very clearly the real quality inherent in the people of Bahrain and its sincere and strong belief in the principles of cooperation and synergy gains.