Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
UNDERSTAND KUWAIT
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Kuwait Today
Relationship with Iraq
It's not possible to talk about Kuwait as it is today without factoring in its strategic import-
ance at the oil-rich end of the Gulf. At the time of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990,
there was some speculation, in Western countries at least, as to why such an unprepossess-
ing splinter of desert should be worth the trouble. Of course, anyone watching the retreat-
ing Iraqi army, under skies black from burning wells, could find an easy answer: oil. But
oil was only half of the story. Kuwait is not, nor has it ever been, simply a piece of oil-rich
desert. Rather, it represents a vital (in all senses of the word) piece of coast that for centur-
ies has provided settlement, trade and a strategic staging post.
The latter is a point not lost on US military forces, who until relatively recently camped
out on Failaka Island. Two decades ago, the same island, at the mouth of Kuwait Bay, was
occupied by the Iraqis. Roughly 2300 years before that, it was the turn of the ancient
Greeks, attracted to one of only two natural harbours in the Gulf; and 2000 years earlier
still, it belonged to the great Dilmun empire, based in Bahrain. The country has a curious
way of cleaning up history once the protagonists have departed, and just as there's very
little evidence of recent events without some determined (and ill-advised) unearthing, the
same could be said of the rest of Kuwait's 10,000 years of history.
In fact, between one glamorous development and another, it's almost possible to over-
look the Iraqi invasion - almost, but not quite. Over two decades have passed, but the dev-
astating experience lurks under the national consciousness and visible reminders of the war
remain to this day, not least in museums of commemoration. Despite this, there's little os-
tensible animosity between Kuwaitis and their northern neighbours; in fact, a good deal of
sympathy passes between the two as Iraq continues to pay a heavy price for former con-
flicts.
