After the collapse of the Soviet Union, new sources of conflict became immediately evident in the Middle East. Describe the first conflict after the end of the Cold War in the Middle East, and explain the events that led up to it and resolved it

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANSWER:
Students should understand that the first military conflict after the end of the Cold War was the Persian Gulf War. It was clear that Russia was no longer able to support its former ally, Iraq, in a military confrontation with the United States, and Iraq wanted to "flex its muscles" in the region and perhaps become a regional superpower with the Soviet Union in a position of weakness. The leader of Iraq was Saddam Husain. Students should explain his actions and how they led to the military response of the United States. His aggression toward the neighboring oil producer, Kuwait, stemmed from the accumulation of Iraqi debts that Kuwait refused to forgive or reduce, Husain's accusations that Kuwait was engaging in "lateral drilling," and his claim that Kuwait was historically a part of Iraqi territory. He claimed that Western imperialism after World War I had created artificial borders in the region and that Iraq had ancestral claims to Kuwaiti land and therefore oil resources. Although the United States had hoped for years to cultivate Saddam Husain as an American ally in the region, in 1991 President Bush began military action in Iraq. However, the United States fell short of removing him from power, and a second Gulf War did that in the spring of 2003.