Iraq should be blamed for starting the Gulf War.
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Yes, Iraq should be blamed.
Side Score: 29
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No, Kuwait should be blamed.
Side Score: 38
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Done by Darryl Lam, Aziel, Charlene, Hao Xian and Kashyap Iraq had all along considered Kuwait to be part of Iraq. Before the British granted them Independence both of the countries belonged to the Ottoman Empire, they felt that the British were wrong to grant independence to Kuwait. Their attempted means to take Kuwait under their wings were constantly being repudiated by the British and several Arab countries. As such, Iraq has always expected Kuwait to give in to its demands. Kuwaiti's refusal to give in to Iraq resulted in shock and anger. Kuwait refused to be cowed into giving up Bubiyan and Warbah Island, this angered Iraq. As these islands were important for the economy of Iraq, Iraq decided to attack Kuwait in order to gain these strategic locations. The historical enmity coupled with the slant drilling incident and refusal by Kuwait to lease Warbah and Bubiyan Island upset the Iraqis. As a result, Iraq was even more aggressive In trying to force Kuwait to give in to their demands. The result was the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. Thus, we can see that Iraq was responsible for the war. The Economic War by Kuwait through the overproduction of oil by Kuwait made Kuwait responsible. Before the start of the Iran-Iraq war of 1980 to 1988, Iraq was a relatively prosperous country with about US$35 billion in reserves. Iraq suffered tremendously during the war with Iran. Besides the heavy loss of lives, Iraq's economy was in ruins. Iraq owed about US$80 billion in debts to its neighbours and other countries that had supplied it with food and war equipment. The reconstruction of the war-torn country also required a massive US$230 billion. Iraq, thus, had to find ways to pay off this massive debt as well as to rebuild the country. Iraq had hoped to pay off its debt by earning more revenue from the sale of oil However, oil prices were falling due to over-production by some countries. OPEC had put quotas on the amount of oil that its member countries could produce to prevent a further decline in oil prices. Kuwait and the UAE, however, ignored the quota set and produced oil well about their assigned limits. This caused oil prices to fall from US$18 to US$7 per barrel at one point. Iraq lost a lot of revenue due to the fall in oil prices. Iraq lost US$1 billion from oil sales each time the price of oil fell by one US dollar. Iraq felt that the action of Kuwait and the UAE was equivalent to waging an economic war on Iraq as 90% of its income came from the sale of oil This worsened the relationship as Iraq saw Kuwait's refusal as an attack on its interest and hence Iraq decided to launch an attack on Kuwait. Iraq had been eyeing Kuwait since the 1960s. While Kuwait did lower the price of oil. Iraq made use of this and use this as an excuse to attack Kuwait, as it had been targeting places such as Warbah and Bubiyan Island as well. The economic war by Kuwait was the right excuse that Iraq used to attack Kuwait as it has been waiting for Kuwait to slip and make mistakes. Thus, Iraq was responsible for the war. Side: Yes, Iraq should be blamed.
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Enoch and Jemaimah Iraq should blamed. Iraq's intent on invading Kuwait was to gain resources for its own benefits, to help its economy recover after the Iran-Iraq war. By invading Kuwait, Saddam Hussein could gain wealth and natural resources to solve its financial problems, as well as have access to the gulf, as Iraq was landlocked. Hence, Iraq was to be blamed for the Gulf war as they attacked Kuwait for their own personal gains. Side: Yes, Iraq should be blamed.
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This all started when Iraq claimed that Kuwait was pumping oil that belonged to Iraq and that Kuwait was holding down the oil prices to slow down Iraq's economic recovery from the Iran-Iraq War, which was not true.Saddam Hussein had met with the US ambassador before and the US ambassador has warned Saddam of the dangers of using force to resolve its dispute with Kuwait.Despite that, Iraq did not heed the US ambassador's advice and invaded Kuwait. This concerned the US as Iraq would be able to control the prices of oil if it's military is able to seize control of the oil fields in Kuwait. In addition to that, Iraq was using chemical weapons to attack. There were also worries that Iraq might even possess nuclear bombs. Thus, the US had to step in and stop Iraq before they inflict any more damage on innocent civilians.However, Iraq launched Scud missiles into Israel and Saudi Arabia, they did not cause a lot of damage.Instead, Iraq ordered Iraqi troops to set 700 Kuwait oil wee ls on fire and spill millions of oil into the Persian Gulf. This created the largest environment disaster. All in all, Iraq should be blamed Side: Yes, Iraq should be blamed.
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Kuwait refused to stop producing oil, causing oil prices to drop due to demand and supply. Iraq's economic foundations weakens as one of Iraq main source of income is oil. They were cornered because of the low oil price and decided to invade Iraq. Side: No, Kuwait should be blamed.
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Dylaine & Jee Hoon: Previously, the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had set margins to limit the production of oil. However, Kuwait (as well as UAE) refused to comply with their regulations and over-produced their oil, causing the price of oil to drop significantly. Because Iraq relied primarily on oil to support their economy, when the oil prices dropped, their economy was heavily affected. Hence, this caused Iraq's financial stability to drop. Hence, Iraq decided to attack Kuwait to stop Kuwait from producing too much oil so as to defend their economy. Side: No, Kuwait should be blamed.
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Luke: Kuwait should be blamed as they had used slant drilling techniques from the Kuwait side to drill for oil from the Iraq side of the Rumaila oilfield. This angered Iraq. Furthermore, when Iraq requested a US$2.4 billion compensation for their drilling, Kuwait refused and claimed they had only drilled from their side. When brought to the Arab League, Kuwait still refused to come to any compromise of this issue. The overproduction of oil by Kuwait caused oil prices to fall, causing Iraq to lose US$1 billion for every $1 decrease in price, severely crippling Iraq's economy due to 90% of its economy leaning on oil sales. Side: No, Kuwait should be blamed.
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The OPEC, a group of oil producing countries including Kuwait and Iraq, set quotas on oil production to control the supply of oil. If oil production was too high, the price of oil would decrease. However, Kuwait paid no attention to the OPEC's demands, and produced more oil than they were supposed to. Oil prices thus fell from 18USD to 7USD. This caused Iraq to lose 1 billion in oil sales. Since 90% of Iraqi revenue came from selling oil, the effects on Iraq were devastating. Iraq had no choice but to conquer Kuwait and force it to produce less oil, increasing oil prices and restoring the economy. Side: No, Kuwait should be blamed.
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Kuwait refused to stop producing oil, causing oil prices to drop due to demand and supply. Iraq's economic foundations weakens as one of Iraq main source of income is oil. They were cornered because of the low oil price and decided to invade Iraq. Side: No, Kuwait should be blamed.
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iraq's economic foundations weakens as one of Iraq main source of income is oil. They were cornered because of the low oil price and decided to invade Iraq. People survived for thousands of years without oil. Iraq invaded Kuwait because it wanted to. Side: Yes, Iraq should be blamed.
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Man Jun Jie - Kuwait should be blamed for the war as they refused to not overproduce oil which caused a drop in oil prices. This caused Saddam Hussein to have the opinion that Iraq would not be able to rebuild its infrastructure and economy with these low prices.Also, Kuwait was also guilty of stealing oil from Iraq through the use of 'slant drilling' which they admitted to stealing only two and a half million barrels of oil, as though it was not much. This further gave Saddam Hussein reason to invade Kuwait. Side: No, Kuwait should be blamed.
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The economic War by Kuwait through the overproduction of oil by Kuwait made Kuwait responsible. Before the start of the Iran-Iraq war of 1980 to 1988, Iraq was relatively prosperous country with about US$35 billion in reserves. Iraq suffered tremendously during the war with Iran. Besides the heavy loss of lives,Iraq's economy was in ruins.Iraq owed about US$80 billion in debts to its neighbours and other countries that had required a massive US$230 billion.Iraq, thus, had to find ways to pay off this massive debt as well as to rebuild the country. Iraq had hoped to pay off its debt by earning more revenue from the sale of oil. However, oil prices were falling due to over-production by some countries. OPEC had put quotas on the amount of oil that its member countries could produce to prevent a further decline in oil prices. Kuwait and the UAE, ignored the quota set and produced oil well about their assigned limits. This caused oil prices to fall from US$18 to US$7 per barrel at one point. Iraq lost a lot of revenue due to the fall in oil prices. Iraq lost US$1 billion from oil sales each time the price of oil fell by US one dollar. Iraq felt that the action of Kuwait and the UAE was equivalent to waging an economic war on Iraq as 90% of its income came from the sale of oil. This worsened the relationship as Iraq saw Kuwait's refusal as an attack on its interest and hence Iraq decided to launch an attack on Kuwait Sheares, Bowen, Sherman (SBS) Side: No, Kuwait should be blamed.
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The economic War by Kuwait through the overproduction of oil by Kuwait made Kuwait responsible. Before the start of the Iran-Iraq war of 1980 to 1988, Iraq was relatively prosperous country with about US$35 billion in reserves. Iraq suffered tremendously during the war with Iran. Besides the heavy loss of lives,Iraq's economy was in ruins.Iraq owed about US$80 billion in debts to its neighbours and other countries that had required a massive US$230 billion.Iraq, thus, had to find ways to pay off this massive debt as well as to rebuild the country. Iraq had hoped to pay off its debt by earning more revenue from the sale of oil. However, oil prices were falling due to over-production by some countries. OPEC had put quotas on the amount of oil that its member countries could produce to prevent a further decline in oil prices. Kuwait and the UAE, ignored the quota set and produced oil well about their assigned limits. This caused oil prices to fall from US$18 to US$7 per barrel at one point. Iraq lost a lot of revenue due to the fall in oil prices. Iraq lost US$1 billion from oil sales each time the price of oil fell by US one dollar. Iraq felt that the action of Kuwait and the UAE was equivalent to waging an economic war on Iraq as 90% of its income came from the sale of oil. This worsened the relationship as Iraq saw Kuwait's refusal as an attack on its interest and hence Iraq decided to launch an attack on Kuwait Sheares, Bowen, Sherman (SBS) Side: No, Kuwait should be blamed.
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