Kuwait's unhappy anniversary

Middle East Policy

Volumn 7, Issue 3, 2000, Pages 67-77

  Tétreault, Mary Ann ^a  

^a TRINITY UNIVERSITY   (United States)

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[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 0034392243     PISSN: 10611924     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4967.2000.tb00164.x     Document Type: Article

References (55)

1. The interview concentrated on Iraq's economic quarrels with Kuwait and other states, including the United States, regarding the collapse of oil prices. The Iraqi version of this interview was published in Arabic in September. According to Elaine Sciolino, the text was evaluated by State Department officials as "essentially correct," a statement disputed months later by Glaspie in testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. See Elaine Sciolino, The Outlaw State: Saddam Hussein's Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1991), pp. 271-84, for an abbreviated transcript together with notes. An uncut transcript appears in The Gulf War Reader: History, Documents, Opinions (New York: Random House, 1991), pp. 122-33.
2. The interview concentrated on Iraq's economic quarrels with Kuwait and other states, including the United States, regarding the collapse of oil prices. The Iraqi version of this interview was published in Arabic in September. According to Elaine Sciolino, the text was evaluated by State Department officials as "essentially correct," a statement disputed months later by Glaspie in testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. See Elaine Sciolino, The Outlaw State: Saddam Hussein's Quest for Power and the Gulf Crisis (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1991), pp. 271-84, for an abbreviated transcript together with notes. An uncut transcript appears in The Gulf War Reader: History, Documents, Opinions (New York: Random House, 1991), pp. 122-33.
3. Jean Edward Smith, George Bush's War (New York: Henry Holt, 1992), p. 74.
4. Sciolino, p. 203.
5. Ibid., p. 224; also Kevin Don Hutchison, Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm: Chronology and Fact Book (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995), pp. 1-6. Critics attribute the failure of the Iraqis to withdraw to the involvement of the United States and Britain in the crisis - see below in the text.
6. Ibid., p. 224; also Kevin Don Hutchison, Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm: Chronology and Fact Book (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1995), pp. 1-6. Critics attribute the failure of the Iraqis to withdraw to the involvement of the United States and Britain in the crisis - see below in the text.
7. The New York Times, August 4, 1990, quoted in Smith, p. 72.
8. Smith, pp. 66-77.
9. Milton Viorst, Sandcastles: The Arabs in Search of the Modern World (New York: Knopf, 1994), p. 257. Many of those who were away were foreign workers taking their annual leaves. Refugees included Kuwaitis and foreigners.
10. Jehan S. Rajab, Invasion Kuwait: An English Woman's Tale (London: Radcliffe Press, 1996), pp. 2-3. Some ruling family members did remain and three were prominent in the Resistance. Interview by the author with Ghanim al-Najjar in Boston, 1999.
11. Interviews by the author with oil company officials in London and Kuwait, 1991 and 1992.
12. Interview by the author in Kuwait, 1992.
13. Interview with Ghanim al-Najjar, Boston, May 1999.
14. Outsider stories are included in Mary Ann Tétreault, The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and the Economics of the New World Order (Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1995); and Stories of Democracy: Politics and Society in Contemporary Kuwait (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000).
15. Outsider stories are included in Mary Ann Tétreault, The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and the Economics of the New World Order (Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 1995); and Stories of Democracy: Politics and Society in Contemporary Kuwait (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000).
16. Tétreault, The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, p. 139.
17. Ghanim al-Najjar, "The Challenges Facing Kuwaiti Democracy," Middle East Journal, Vol. 54, No. 2, Spring 2000, pp. 253-54.
18. For an excellent history of the boundary conflict, see David H. Finnie, Shifting Lines in the Sand: Kuwait's Elusive Frontier with Iraq (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992). Also see Richard Schofield, Kuwait and Iraq: Historical Claims and Territorial Disputes (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1990); Kuwait: Statehood and Boundaries, and the collection of U.N. documents about the boundary demarcation, Demarcation of the International Boundary between the State of Kuwait and the Republic of Iraq by the United Nations. Both are published by the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait (Mansouria, Kuwait, n.d.).
19. For an excellent history of the boundary conflict, see David H. Finnie, Shifting Lines in the Sand: Kuwait's Elusive Frontier with Iraq (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992). Also see Richard Schofield, Kuwait and Iraq: Historical Claims and Territorial Disputes (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1990); Kuwait: Statehood and Boundaries, and the collection of U.N. documents about the boundary demarcation, Demarcation of the International Boundary between the State of Kuwait and the Republic of Iraq by the United Nations. Both are published by the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait (Mansouria, Kuwait, n.d.).
20. For an excellent history of the boundary conflict, see David H. Finnie, Shifting Lines in the Sand: Kuwait's Elusive Frontier with Iraq (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992). Also see Richard Schofield, Kuwait and Iraq: Historical Claims and Territorial Disputes (London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1990); Kuwait: Statehood and Boundaries, and the collection of U.N. documents about the boundary demarcation, Demarcation of the International Boundary between the State of Kuwait and the Republic of Iraq by the United Nations. Both are published by the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait (Mansouria, Kuwait, n.d.).
21. Finnie, chap. 9; also, Abdul-Reda Assiri, Kuwait's Foreign Policy: City-State in World Politics (Boulder: Westview Press, 1990), pp. 19-31, 40-41, 54-57, 70-75.
22. Finnie, chap. 9; also, Abdul-Reda Assiri, Kuwait's Foreign Policy: City-State in World Politics (Boulder: Westview Press, 1990), pp. 19-31, 40-41, 54-57, 70-75.
23. Assiri, pp. 54-55.
24. Fred Lawson, "Theories of Integration in New Context: The Gulf Cooperation Council," in Racing to Regionalize: Democracy, Capitalism, and Regional Political Economy, eds. Kenneth P. Thomas and Mary Ann Tétreault (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1999), pp. 15-20.
25. Assiri, pp. 75-76.
26. Ibid., pp. 100-10.
27. Tétreault, The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, p. 147.
28. Lawson, p. 23.
29. Ibid., p. 24.
30. See Tétreault, Stories of Democracy, pp. 87-97. Insiders offered their occupation experience as proof that Kuwaitis could take care of themselves, particularly with respect to native versus imported labor. Instead, the government increased citizens' social allowances and allowed labor imports to resume, though the preferred nationalities of guest workers changed depending on the positions of their home governments on the conflict between Iraq and Kuwait - i.e., more Egyptians and no Palestinians.
31. Tétreault, The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, pp. 126-30.
32. Ibid., pp. 142-46.
33. The restitution program is described in John R. Crook, "The United Nations Compensation Commission -A New Structure to Enforce State Responsibility," American Journal of International Law 87 ( 1993). Its application in Kuwait is described in Adel Asem and Haya al-Mughni, "Claiming for Compensation Through the United Nations Compensation Commission: The Case of Kuwait," paper presented at the International Conference on the Effects of the Iraqi Aggression on Kuwait, Kuwait, April 1994.
34. The restitution program is described in John R. Crook, "The United Nations Compensation Commission - A New Structure to Enforce State Responsibility," American Journal of International Law 87 ( 1993). Its application in Kuwait is described in Adel Asem and Haya al-Mughni, "Claiming for Compensation Through the United Nations Compensation Commission: The Case of Kuwait," paper presented at the International Conference on the Effects of the Iraqi Aggression on Kuwait, Kuwait, April 1994.
35. Kuwait Times, May 14, 2000, distributed by the Washington Kurdish Institute, May 17, 2000, wki@kurd.org.
36. A recent story in the Philadelphia Inquirer discusses the current status of Kuwaiti POWs in Iraq. See Barbara Demick, "In Kuwait, Hope Lingers for 605," April 27, 2000, p. A-5.
37. Al-Najjar, p. 245. The 1967 parliament was the product of a rigged election. The 1975 and 1985 parliaments both were closed down during the year following their elections; the government refused to schedule elections for new parliaments until 1981 and 1992, respectively.
38. Shafeeq Ghabra, "Kuwait and the Dynamics of Socioeconomic Change," Middle East Journal, Vol. 51, No. 3, Summer 1997, pp. 358-72. See also Nicolas Gavrielides, "Tribal Democracy: The Anatomy of Parliamentary Elections in Kuwait," in Elections in the Middle East: Implications of Recent Trends, ed. Linda L. Layne (Boulder: Westview, 1987), pp. 187-213; Tétreault, Stories of Democracy. It should be noted that, at the time when large numbers of bedouins were given full citizenship, other immigrants were naturalized at far lower rates. The law during much of this period restricted naturalizations to 50 per year.
39. Shafeeq Ghabra, "Kuwait and the Dynamics of Socioeconomic Change," Middle East Journal, Vol. 51, No. 3, Summer 1997, pp. 358-72. See also Nicolas Gavrielides, "Tribal Democracy: The Anatomy of Parliamentary Elections in Kuwait," in Elections in the Middle East: Implications of Recent Trends, ed. Linda L. Layne (Boulder: Westview, 1987), pp. 187-213; Tétreault, Stories of Democracy. It should be noted that, at the time when large numbers of bedouins were given full citizenship, other immigrants were naturalized at far lower rates. The law during much of this period restricted naturalizations to 50 per year.
40. Shafeeq Ghabra, "Kuwait and the Dynamics of Socioeconomic Change," Middle East Journal, Vol. 51, No. 3, Summer 1997, pp. 358-72. See also Nicolas Gavrielides, "Tribal Democracy: The Anatomy of Parliamentary Elections in Kuwait," in Elections in the Middle East: Implications of Recent Trends, ed. Linda L. Layne (Boulder: Westview, 1987), pp. 187-213; Tétreault, Stories of Democracy. It should be noted that, at the time when large numbers of bedouins were given full citizenship, other immigrants were naturalized at far lower rates. The law during much of this period restricted naturalizations to 50 per year.
41. For example, with regard to the veiling of women, which has become more common among urban Kuwaitis, and gender segregation at post-secondary educational institutions, which never had been a policy in Kuwait prior to 1996, when a law was passed requiring implementation of gender segregation within five years.
42. Neil Hicks and Ghanim al-Najjar, "The Utility of Tradition: Civil Society in Kuwait," in Civil Society in the Middle East, Volume 1, ed. Augustus Richard Norton (New York: E. J. Brill, 1995), pp. 186-213; Mary Ann Tétreault, "Civil Society in Kuwait: Protected Spaces and Women's Rights," Middle East Journal, Vol. 47, No. 2, Spring 1993, pp. 275-91 ; Shamlan Y. Al Essa, "The Political Consequences of the Crisis for Kuwait," in The Gulf Crisis: Background and Consequences, ed. Ibrahim Ibrahim, (Washington: Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, 1992), pp. 169-85.
43. Neil Hicks and Ghanim al-Najjar, "The Utility of Tradition: Civil Society in Kuwait," in Civil Society in the Middle East, Volume 1, ed. Augustus Richard Norton (New York: E. J. Brill, 1995), pp. 186-213; Mary Ann Tétreault, "Civil Society in Kuwait: Protected Spaces and Women's Rights," Middle East Journal, Vol. 47, No. 2, Spring 1993, pp. 275-91 ; Shamlan Y. Al Essa, "The Political Consequences of the Crisis for Kuwait," in The Gulf Crisis: Background and Consequences, ed. Ibrahim Ibrahim, (Washington: Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, 1992), pp. 169-85.
44. Neil Hicks and Ghanim al-Najjar, "The Utility of Tradition: Civil Society in Kuwait," in Civil Society in the Middle East, Volume 1, ed. Augustus Richard Norton (New York: E. J. Brill, 1995), pp. 186-213; Mary Ann Tétreault, "Civil Society in Kuwait: Protected Spaces and Women's Rights," Middle East Journal, Vol. 47, No. 2, Spring 1993, pp. 275-91 ; Shamlan Y. Al Essa, "The Political Consequences of the Crisis for Kuwait," in The Gulf Crisis: Background and Consequences, ed. Ibrahim Ibrahim, (Washington: Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, 1992), pp. 169-85.
45. Mary Ann Tétreault and Haya al-Mughni, "From Subjects to Citizens: Women and the Nation in Kuwait," in Women, States and Nationalism: At Home in the Nation? eds. Sita Ranchod-Nilsson and Mary Ann Tétreault (New York: Routledge, 2000), pp. 153-55; and Tétreault, Stories of Democracy, pp. 158-64.
46. Mary Ann Tétreault and Haya al-Mughni, "From Subjects to Citizens: Women and the Nation in Kuwait," in Women, States and Nationalism: At Home in the Nation? eds. Sita Ranchod-Nilsson and Mary Ann Tétreault (New York: Routledge, 2000), pp. 153-55; and Tétreault, Stories of Democracy, pp. 158-64.
47. Several of the decrees issued in 1999 dealt with the budget, whose deadline for passage was July. The majority were concerned with substantive issues, not only women's rights but also foreign investment, oil policy and other matters on which the government and members of parliament were in conflict. As it turned out, all the non-budgetary decrees were rejected by the 1999 parliament.
48. The first vote was 41/21 against; the second was 32/30 against. Of the fifteen members of the Cabinet, all but the Islamist member (who, ironically, is the only Cabinet officer who also is an elected member of parliament) voted in favor. "Yes" votes from the Cabinet totaled fifteen because the prime minister also voted for the measure.
49. Abdullah al-Shayeji, "Kuwaiti Parliament and Women's Suffrage," posting to Gulf2000, December 1, 1999.
50. Reuters, "Kuwaiti Woman's Case Advances in Court," The Washington Post, May 30, 2000, p. A15.
51. Tétreault, The Kuwait Oil Corporation, pp. 194-95.
52. Sciolino, p. 200.
53. Tétreault, The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Union Carbide was eventually chosen as the foreign partner in the Equate facility.
54. Arab Times, August 25, 1997, p. 4.
55. Edmund L. Andrews, "Kuwaitis are Exasperated by America's Oil Politics," The New York Times, March 27, 2000, Gulf2000 archives.