Some background reading for the masses:
1916: Britain invades Iraq.
1921: Sir Percy Cox redraws borders, separating Kuwait from Basra province and narrowing Iraqi access to Persian Gulf.
1924: British Commander ?Bomber? Harris uses mustard gas against Iraqi rebels.
1932: Britain gives Iraq nominal independence. Kuwait is made a British protectorate.
1951: Iran?s Mossadegh government nationalises holdings of Anglo-Iranian Company (now BP).
1953: CIA helps overthrow Mossadegh. Shah installed and hands over 40% ownership of oil fields to US companies. SAVAK brutal state police - formed with American backing and with the help of Norman Schwarzkopf Sr.
14.17.58: Popular nationalist revolution in Iraq led by Abdel Karim Kassem overthrows Hashemite monarchy, installed by British In 1921. Kassem helped found OPEC. He also nationalised Western holdings in Iraq.
1960: OPEC formed.
1963: Bloody CIA aided coup overthrows Kassem and thousands of supporters. Testifying to a Senate committee, a CIA member joked: "The target suffered a terminal illness before a firing squad in Baghdad."
James Critchfield, head of the CIA's Middle East Desk later stated: "It was an operation where all the 't's were really crossed. It was a great victory."
1968: Ba?ath party comes to power, which, according to John Pilger, was only possible because the CIA provided a list of opponents including trade unionists, socialists and pluralists, many of whom were later murdered.
1972: Iraq nationalises oil Industry with slogan "Arab oil for Arabs". Iraq is placed on US list of states that support terrorism. Nixon and Kissinger plot with Shah to arm Iraqi Kurds to weaken Iraq. US arms were funnelled through Iran; the Kurds encouraged to reject a Soviet offer to mediate with Baghdad. According to the Pike Congressional Report:
"Neither the foreign head of state (the Shah) nor the President nor Dr. Kissinger desired a victory for our clients (the Kurds). They merely hoped to ensure a level of hostilities high enough to sap the resources of the neighbouring state (Iraq). Even in the context of covert action, ours was a cynical enterprise."
After nationalisation of Iranian, then Iraqi oil, Western oil companies had increased production from Kuwait. Within OPEC Kuwait acted to benefit oil companies against the interests of more populous Arab countries.
Prior to OPEC, Middle Eastern oil was controlled by the ?Big 7?. By 1975 even Saudi Arabia and Kuwait had nationalised oil. Fear of the Soviet Union and Vietnam syndrome, ruled out direct intervention, necessitating the ?Nixon doctrine? which relied on regional powers, Iran and Israel to control challenges to US interests in the region. After the fall of the Shah, military planning began in earnest.
1973: The Pentagon conducts annual training exercises in the Mojave Desert in which Marines are pitted against soldiers in Libyan and Iraqi uniforms. Washington strategists openly discuss invading the Gulf.
1974: Threatening statements from US Defence Secretary prompts Saudis and Kuwaitis to mine their oil fields in preparation for a US invasion.
1975: Iraq agrees to share control of the Shatt-al-Arab waterway with Iran. The US and the Shah stop their support for the Kurds, whose leadership was forced to flee. Kissinger explained:
"Covert operations should not be confused with missionary work."
The Pike report later revealed that the decision to stop aid "?was not imparted to our clients who were encouraged to keep fighting."