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Reasons for Invasion - there are more, but this is a good start
[[Iraq]] declared [[Kuwait]] a rebellious province.
[[Iraq]] declared [[Kuwait]] a rebellious province.
==Reasons for Invasion==
Despite close foreign relations during the [[Iran-Iraq War]], the relationship between Iraq and Kuwait quickly deteriorated after the war. This happened for a number of reasons, many of which can be attributed to blunders and miscalculations by Saddam Hussein.
===Loan Dispute===
Kuwait loaned Iraq $8.2 billion during the Iran-Iraq war, a sum that Hussein did not think he would be expected to repay. When Kuwait refused to pardon the debt, the friendship between the two countries began to strain.
===Slant Drilling===
Kuwait was participating in "slant drilling" where they were essentially drilling and collecting the oil beneath Iraq. Since Iraq was so dependent on oil revenues, Saddam essentially viewed this as theft.
===Miscommunication with the United States===
On July 25, 1990, the Iraqi High Command met with the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie, to discuss the military activity of Iraq. In this meeting Glaspie stated that "we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait." Hussein took this as a "green light" from the U.S. to invade Kuwait.
==Combat==
On the 2nd of August 1990, the Iraqi military invaded Kuwait. Kuwaiti forces resisted, but were quickly over-whelmed. In the air, Kuwaiti [[Dassault Mirage F1|Mirage F1]] and [[A-4 Skyhawk]] pilots claimed to have shot down several Iraqi helicopters, but none of these claims have been confirmed.<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_215.shtml Kuwaiti Air-to-Air Victories in 1990]</ref> Following five weeks of aerial bombardment from [[US]] and allied warplanes on targets in Iraq and Kuwait, a 4 day [[Gulf_War|ground war]] started on 23 February 1991, and Kuwait was liberated.
On the 2nd of August 1990, the Iraqi military invaded Kuwait. Kuwaiti forces resisted, but were quickly over-whelmed. In the air, Kuwaiti [[Dassault Mirage F1|Mirage F1]] and [[A-4 Skyhawk]] pilots claimed to have shot down several Iraqi helicopters, but none of these claims have been confirmed.<ref>[http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_215.shtml Kuwaiti Air-to-Air Victories in 1990]</ref> Following five weeks of aerial bombardment from [[US]] and allied warplanes on targets in Iraq and Kuwait, a 4 day [[Gulf_War|ground war]] started on 23 February 1991, and Kuwait was liberated.