Iraqi Enigma: Ethno-Sectarianism, Tribalism State, Ideology and Class

摘要

On 2 August 1990, the most powerful and advanced Arab State, Iraq, invaded and seized its much smaller neighbor, Kuwait Saudi Arabia, the bedrock of the United States' Gulf policy since World War II, was clearly threatened by a more powerful and aggressive Baghdad. Iraq now possessed nearly same oil resources as Riyadh. It fielded nearly million-man army, thousands of tanks and chemical weapons only days away from the vast bulk of Saudi oil in the Kingdom's eastern province. More ominously, the Iraqis also appeared on the verge of developing nuclear weapons.