"Sifry and Cerf have edited a book on the Gulf War that will stand for the foreseeable future as the authoritative statement from different points of view about the continuing tragedy in the Gulf and Middle East. The book contains basic historical documents, articles from leading analysts in the field, and political commentary which will leave the reader reeling from the intrigue, misperception, animosity, xenophobia, and skullduggery which is the story of oil, politics, great-power rivalries, colonial grabs, and nationalist yearnings. The collection should be read from beginning to end, for it reads like a frightening suspense novel, as well as a cautionary tale about human weakness."
-Marcus Raskin, Distinguished Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies, and co-editor (with Bernard B. Fall) of The Vietnam Reader
"The Gulf War Reader is a timely and indispensable guide to the underlying issues, interests, and passions that erupted in the world's first post-Cold War conflict.” -William Hyland, editor of Foreign Affairs and author of The Cold War Is Over
"Historical background, uncensored reportage and polemic from every imaginable point of view-mainstream and alternative-left, right, and off the political spectrum. A must-read for the informed citizen in search of all the views fit to print." -ERIC Utne, editor-in-chief, Utne Reader
Contributors include: George Bush, Jimmy Carter, Walter Cronkite, Elizabeth Drew, Theodore Draper, Barbara Ehrenreich, Thomas L. Friedman, Todd Gitlin, April Glaspie, David Halberstam, Christopher Hitchens, Saddam Hussein, Henry A. Kissinger, Bernard Lewis, Edward IM. Luttwak, Judith Miller, William Pfaff, William Satire, Edward W. Said, Robert Scheer, Daniel Yergin.
Contents
An Introductory Note / v
Roots of Conflict Imperial Legacy Phillip Knightley / 3 Lines in the Sand Glenn Frankel / 16 Oil: The Strategic Prize Daniel Yergin / 21 U.S. Intervention in the Middle East: A Case Study Micah L. Sifry / 27 From Rapid Deployment to Massive Deployment Joe Stork and Martha Wenger / 34 American Hubris Theodore Draper / 40 Iraq vs. Kuwait: Claims and Counterclaims Walid Khalidi / 57 The Rise of Saddam Hussein Judith Miller and Laurie Mylroie / 66 The Iraq Lobby: Kissinger, the Business Forum & Co. Joe Conason / 79 What Washington Gave Saddam for Christmas Murray Waas / 85 Prelude to War Kuwait: How the West Blundered The Economist / 99 Realpolitik in the Gulf: A Game Gone Tilt Christopher Hitchens / 107 U.S. Senators Chat with Saddam (April 12, 1990) / 119 The Glaspie Transcript: Saddam Meets the U.S, Ambassador (July 25, 1990) / 122 Nightmare From the Thirties Charles Krauthammer / 134 The U.N. Resolutions: The Complete Text / 137 Iraq’s Occupation of Kuwait: Excerpts from Amnesty International’s Report (December 19, 1990) / 157 Why Some Arabs Support Saddam Walid Khalidi / 161 The Geneva Meeting (Remarks of January 9, 1991) James A. Baker 3 D, Tariq Aziz, George Bush / 172 The Letter to Saddam (January 9, 1991) George Bush / 178 Washington Prepares for War. Elizabeth Drew / 180
Intervention and Escalation: The Debate In Defense of Saudi Arabia (Speech of August 8, 1990) George Bush / 197 Saddam’s Next Target A. M. Rosenthal / 200 Washington’s “Vital Interests” Thomas L. Friedman / 203 If My Marine Son is Killed… Alex Molnar / 207 The Hitler Analogy William Safire / 210 Have the Neocons Thought This Through? Patrick Buchanan / 213 EnGulfed Andrew Kopkind / 216 The Myth of Iraq’s Oil Stranglehold Doug Bandow / 219 Taking International Law Seriously Michael Kinsley / 221 The Need to Negotiate Jimmy Carter / 225 The Need for an Offensive Military Option (Speech of November 8, 1990) George Bush / 228 On the Gulf and Middle East Crisis National Council Of Churches Of Christ / 230 Give Sanctions a Chance (Testimony Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, November 28, 1990) Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr / 234 How to Cut Iraq Down to Size (Testimony Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, November 28, 1990) Henry A. Kissinger / 238 How Close Is Iraq to the Bomb? (Testimony Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, November 30, 1990) Gary Milhollin / 243 The Drift to War (Testimony Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, December 5, 1990) Zbigniew Brzezinski / 251 Sanctions Work: The Historical Record Kimberly Elliott, Gary Hufbauer, Jeffrey Schott / 255 The Obligation to Debate (Speech of January 4, 1991) Senator Tom Harkin / 260 White Slaves in the Persian Gulf Arthur Schlesinger, Jr . / 265 The Case for Intervention Representative Stephen J . Solarz / 269 A Return to Cold War Thinking (Speech of January 10, 1991) Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan / 284 Authorization for Use of Military Force (Joint Congressional Resolution of January 12, 1991) / 287 Agencies of Disorder Edward N. Luttwak / 290 Who Wants Another Panama? Barbara Ehrenreich / 299 A Just War? Michael Walzer / 302 The Use (and Abuse) of the United Nations Noam Chomsky / 307 The Liberation of Kuwait Has Begun (Speech of January 16, 1991) George Bush / 311 The Mother of All Battles (Speech of January 20, 1991) Saddam Hussein / 315 Is This Any Way to Wage Peace? John E. Mack And Jeffrey Z. Rubin / 317 Toward a Difficult Peace Movement Todd Gitlin / 320 The Forgotten War Robert Massa / 323 Hymn for the Unsung Ariel Dorfman / 326 The Illogic of Escalation (Statement of February 9, 1991) Mikhail S. Gorbachev / 329 Bombing Baghdad: No Cause for Guilt Charles Krauthammer / 331 Top Gun Party c o lm a n McCarthy / 334 Iraq Is Ready to Deal (Radio Address of February 15, 1991) Revolutionary Command Council / 337 A Cruel Hoax (Speech of February 15, 1991) George Bush / 343 Soviet Peace Proposal (February 22, 1991) / 345 Why Moscow Wants To Save Saddam A. M. Rosenthal / 346 The Ultimatum (Statement of February 22, 1991) George Bush / 349 Criteria for Withdrawal (Statement of February 22, 1991) Marlin Fitzwater / 351
The First Casualty How the Media Missed the Story James Bennet / 355 A Muzzle for the Press Sydney H. Schanberg / 368 Free to Report What We’re Told Robert Fisk / 376 What Is There to Hide? Walter Cronkite / 381 Television and the Instant Enemy David Halberstam / 385 Briefingspeak George Black / 389
The Agony of the Middle East The Crisis of the Arab World Fred Halliday / 395 The Bitter Fruits of War Rami G. Khouri / 402 The Decline of Pan-Arabism Bernard Lewis / 405 A Few of Our Favorite Kings Dilip Hiro / 408 In the Wake of “Desert Storm” SCOTT Macleod / 412 The Palestinians and the Gulf Crisis Rashid Khalidi / 423 War and Peace in Israel Robert I. Friedman / 431 On Linkage, Language, and Identity Edward W. Said / 439
Pax American a Redux Kuwait Is Liberated (Speech of February 27, 1991) George Bush / 449 Onward Christian Soldiers Lewis H. Lapham / 452 A False Dream Henry A. Kissinger / 461 The Pentagon’s New Paradigm Michael T. Klare / 466 Why We Need to Police the World Anthony H. Cordesman / 477 What Will This War Mean? Marcy Darnovsky, L. A. Kauffman, Billy Robinson / 480 More Likely a New World Disorder William Pfaff / 487 What a Wonderful War Robert Scheer / 492
Further Reading / 498 Index / 511
AN INTRODUCTORY NOTE
The United States and the Middle East are at a critical moment in their individual and common histories. The first international crisis of the post-Cold War era culminated in war. But despite the flood of instant information and analysis provided by television and the press during the course of the Gulf War, most Americans remain ill informed about the history of the region, the policies that brought Iraq, Kuwait, and the U.S.-led coalition to confrontation, and the complex problems that will shape the postwar Middle East. The United States has embarked upon a qualitatively new involvement with the region—a commitment that raises important questions: What is the proper role of U.S. power in the world today? Can it be guided by moral precepts, or is realpolitik and the balance of power the only choice for policymakers? What are the root causes of instability and discontent in the Middle East? Can lasting peace be brought to that tormented part of the world by the forcible intervention of outside powers? Are there other, less violent ways of resolving the disputes among the countries and peoples of the region? Can America’s foreign policy be more tightly tethered to democratic debate and control? And what about the “peace dividend” and the pressing priorities back home?
Such questions (and many others besides) suggest that there are numerous lessons to be learned. The passions, interests, and acts that led— directly and indirectly—to the Gulf War will continue to haunt not only those future historians who will ponder whether this war was necessary or inevitable, but also those policymakers and citizens who wish to prevent such crises from occurring again. Moreover, we have yet to know just how many Iraqis—civilian and military—were killed, and the full extent of the Gulf War’s political, economic, and environmental repercussions. Now that the great military confrontation has ended with the shattering defeat of Iraq’s military forces, the temptation to avoid sober contemplation of the causes and consequences of the Gulf War will be great. A revival of American hubris may be upon us. It is our hope that this book will enrich and deepen the debates that are to come.
Putting together a reader such as this would have been impossible without the cooperation and hard work of many people. We should like to take this opportunity to thank especially our mutual friend Victor Navasky who was instrumental in bringing us together. Christopher Hitchens and Lewis Lapham also played seminal roles, for which we are grateful. We also would like to thank Eric Alterman, William Arkin (and his colleagues at Greenpeace who issued daily “Situation Reports” on the war), George Black, Tom Burgess, Steve Cobble, David Corn, Elsa Dixler, Deborah Foley, Robert I. Friedman, Josh Goren, Mitchell Ivers, Andrew Kopkind, Carolyn Lee, Suzanne Levine, Susan Luke, John McGhee, Rich McKerrow, Peter Osnos, Naomi Osnos, Tony Platt, David Rosenthal, Stanley Sheinbaum, Virginia Sherry, Jamie Sims, Della Smith, Geoff Stephens, Joe Stork and Martha Wenger (and the editorial staff of the indispensable Middle East Report), Jon Wiener, Janet Wygal, and JoAnn Wypijewski for their friendship, encouragement, and advice.
Special thanks are due to Linda Amster and Bill Effros—as well as Andrew Cohen, Adlai Hardin, Matt Hem and the other long-suffering Nation interns—who helped enormously with the research; to Sydney Wolfe Cohen, who has turned indexing into an art form; to Cheryl Moch, who masterminded our permissions blitzkrieg; and to Nancy Inglis, our production editor, and Andy Ambraziejus, our copy editor, whose speed and precision made the timely publication of this book possible.
The writers included here are, of course, the real creators of this book; we wish to thank them all for their kindness and cooperation. We would also like to take this opportunity to recommend to interested readers several essays we sought to include, but for which we were unable to obtain permission: Alexander Cockbum’s “The Press and the ‘Just War’ ” (The Nation, February 18, 1991), William Pfaff’s “Islam and the West” (The New Yorker, January 28, 1991), and Milton Viorst’s “The House of Hashem” (The New Yorker, January 7, 1991). We want also to acknowledge our debt to Marcus Raskin and the late Bernard Fall, editors of The Vietnam Reader, and to Marvin Gettleman, who edited Vietnam: History, Documents, and Opinions on a Major World Crisis; their works, published a generation ago, were the inspiration for this Reader.
We are especially grateful to Ed Victor, our literary agent, who negotiated our contract in only slightly more time than it took General Norman Schwarzkopf to obliterate the Iraqi army; to Andrew Shapiro and Karen Larsen Meizels, who contributed selflessly, and sleeplessly, to every stage of the editorial process; and to Leslie Lieman-Sifry, without whose love and support one of us, at least, might never have undertaken this project.
And finally, our heartfelt thanks to Steve Wasserman, editorial director of Times Books, who saw merit in our project, who skillfully guided us through the unenviable task of trimming 800 pages of “uncut table” manuscript down to a manageable size, and whose vision, unflagging energy, and unerring editorial skill improved our book immeasurably.
Micah L. Sifry and Christopher Cerf New York City March 4, 1991
Roots of Conflict
Imperial Legacy
Phillip Knightley
The new crusaders from the United States and Europe, along with their Arab auxiliaries, are gathered again in the Middle East. But their chances of a lasting victory are slim. No matter what happens to Iraq and its leader, Saddam Hussein, there will be no peace in the area until the world faces up to these historical facts: the West lied to the Arabs in the First World War; it promised them independence but then imposed imperial mandates; this ensured Arab disunity at the very moment when the West created the state of Israel.
In January 1919, Paris was a city of pomp and splendor. The most ghastly war in history had ended two months earlier in triumph for the Allies: Britain, France, and the United States. Now diplomats from these countries, grave, impressive men flanked by their military advisers, had arrived for the peace conference that would decide the fate of Germany and divide the spoils of victory.
Each night the best Paris hotels, ablaze with light from their grand chandeliers, buzzed with conversation and laughter as the delegates relaxed after their duties. In this colorful, cosmopolitan gathering, one delegate stood out. Restaurants grew quiet when he entered, and there was much behind-the-scenes jostling to meet him. For this was Lawrence of Arabia, the young Englishman who had helped persuade the Arabs to revolt against their Turkish masters, who were allies of Germany. This was the brilliant intelligence officer who had welded the warring tribes of the Middle East into a formidable guerrilla force.
…..
Phillip Knightley, a journalist, is author of The Secret Lives of Lawrence of Arabia and The First Casualty, a history of war reporting and propaganda. This article appeared in the November 1990, issue of M Inc. magazine, under the title “Desert Warriors.”
Micah L. Sifry Christopher Cerf
The Gulf War Reader
Times Books
Times Books Random House The Gulf War Reader History, Documents, Opinions Edited By Micah L. Sifry and Christopher Cerf
All rights reserved under International and Pan- American Copyright Conventions.
Published in the United States by Times Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Owing to space limitations, permission acknowledgments for previously published material can be found on pages 504-509.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Gulf war reader : history, documents, opinions / edited by Micah L. Sifry and Christopher Cerf. — 1st ed. p. cm. Included bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-812-91947-5 1. Persian Gulf War, 1991. I. Sifry, Micah L. II. Cerf, Christopher. DS79.72.G85 1991 956.704'3—dc20 / 91-3205
