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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Iraq
Index
Iraq's closest relations in 1988 were with the countries of
the Arabian Peninsula, especially Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. This
was a reversal of the pattern of relations that had persisted in
the 1970s. The original Baathist view of the Arabian Peninsula
shaykhdoms was that they were regimes that had been set up by the
imperialist powers to serve their own interests. This attitude
was reinforced in the period between 1968 and 1971, when Britain
was preparing the countries of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) for complete independence. Iraq wished
to have an influence on the governments that would come to power,
and it provided clandestine assistance to various groups opposed
to the pro-British rulers. Iraqi support of dissident movements
was particularly evident in Oman, where an organized guerrilla
force was fighting the government from the late 1960s to the mid1970s .
The Baathist perception of Iran's role in the Persian Gulf
was an important factor in Iraqi views of the Arabian Peninsula
states. In 1969 Iran, which was then providing aid to dissident
Iraqi Kurds, unilaterally abrogated a 1937 treaty that had
established the Shatt al Arab boundary along the low water on the
Iranian shore; in 1971 Iran forcibly occupied three small islands
in the lower gulf near the approaches to the Strait of Hormuz;
and by 1972 Iran was again giving assistance to antigovernment
Kurds. As Iraq became increasingly concerned about Iranian
policies, it tried to enlist the cooperation of the Arab
monarchies in an effort to keep the Persian Gulf independent of
Iranian influence. Iraq believed it was possible to collaborate
with the Arab kings and shaykhs because the latter had proven
their Arab nationalism by participating in the 1973 oil boycott
against the Western countries supporting Israel. Despite Iraq's
new friendliness, the rulers in countries like Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia did not easily forget their suspicions of Iraqi
radicalism. Nevertheless, political discussions were initiated,
and progress was made toward resolving disputes over borders,
over oil pricing policy, and over support for subversion.
By the time the Islamic Revolution occurred in Iran in 1979,
Iraq had succeeded in establishing generally correct relations
with the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. The war with Iran
served as a catalyst to develop these relations even further.
Although the Gulf states proclaimed their neutrality in the war,
in practice they gave Iraq crucial financial support. The
unexpected prolongation of the war and the closing of Iraqi ports
early in the war had produced a severe economic crunch by the
beginning of 1981. In response, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and
the UAE all provided loans to help replace revenues that Iraq had
lost because of the decline of its oil exports. Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait were particularly generous, providing an estimated US$50
billion in interest-free loans up through 1987. In addition, a
major portion of Iraq's nonmilitary imports were shipped to
Kuwaiti harbors, then transported overland to Iraq. Saudi Arabia
also agreed to provide to Iraqi contract customers part of its
own oil from the Neutral Zone, jurisdiction over which it shared
with Iraq; it was understood that Iraq would repay this oil
"loan" after the war had ended.
Data as of May 1988
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