Jordan's Role During the First Persian Gulf War
Was King Hussein a Consparitor in the Iraqi Annexation of Kuwait?
Throughout the war the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in the eyes of much of the world, remained neutral despite intense pressure from the Americans to join the coalition against Saddam.
Jordan's Role in the First Persian Gulf War
History however reveals conflicting versions of Jordan’s role in the first Persian Gulf War. George Bush’s American administration had openly accused King Hussein of betraying his allies and of being aware of Saddam Hussein’s plans to invade Kuwait. He was further 'charged' with giving Saddam tacit support during the crisis.
Tensions in the region had steadily risen throughout 1990, particularly in Israel which was not involved in the subsequent Gulf War fighting. The Israeli military was anxious at the news reported in some Arab publications that Iraq and Jordan “had formed joint military battalions.” In addition, Saddam’s increasingly belligerent rhetoric over his dispute with Kuwait simply increased the pressure on both Israeli and Arab leaders.
Annexation of Kuwait
Distinguished writer and historian Avi Shlaim in his biography of King Hussein, goes further by saying the American version of events accuses him of helping Saddam Hussein to: “Circumvent the UN-decreed sanctions against Iraq and he (Hussein) conspired with him to follow up the annexation of Kuwait with a Jordanian annexation of choice parts of Saudi Arabia.”
Certainly there were tensions between Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which worried about Hussein’s territorial ambitions and its Iraqi friends. Twenty Jordanian embassy staff were subsequently expelled, from the Kingdom, for activities “incompatible with their status” a diplomatic euphemism for espionage.
TheJordanian account of their conduct before and during the war is of course different; King Hussein who was one of the few Arab leaders on friendly terms with Saddam always said he had no knowledge of his plans to invade Kuwait. It was, he said a call from King Fahd of Saudi Arabia that alerted him to the invasion.
The King always said that the invasion came as a surprise to him particularly as Saddam had assured him that there would be no military action while his negotiations with Kuwait, to resolve their differences, continued.
In the weeks that followed there is considerable evidence that the king worked tirelessly to find an Arab solution to the problem. George Bush however was suspicious of this way forward fearing it would let Saddam of the hook.
President Mubarak of Egypt, initially a supporter of Hussein’s ‘in house’ Arab resolution, subsequently changed his mind, almost certainly as a result of American pressure.
On January 17, 1991 George Bush called King Fahd and President Mubarak to tell them the air war was about to start. Secretary of State James Baker telephoned the Russians but nobody told the Jordanians, Hussein found out watching a CNN news programme.
Bombardment of Baghdad
King Hussein’s American born wife Queen Noor describes the moment in her book Leap of Faith, she said: “We sat in front of the television devastated as we watched the opening bombardment of Baghdad.”
The rest of course is as they say history, except to say that the Jordanians felt so strongly that their version of events, not the American one, was a true reflection of what happened. In a bid to tell the world their side of the story the King took the unorthodox step of publishing in August 1991 a White Paper, which together with a number of official documents outlined the Jordanian version of events.
Avi Shlaim who has examined the papers said: “A critical scrutiny of all the available evidence invalidates the American version on a number of counts without fully substantiating the Jordanian one.”
Sources:
New York Times, War in the Gulf: 9 February 1991
Mitchell Bard, The Gulf War: Jewish Virtual Library
Avi Shlaim, Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace (Penguin Books 2008)
Queen Noor of Jordan, Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life (Orion Books 2003)
Persian Gulf War Map
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