Oman Kuwait
Background
Kuwaiti soldiers in formation during a dignitary's visit
to their outpost during Operation Desert Shield
Courtesy United States Air Force
Kuwaiti M-84 main battle tank lays a smoke screen in a
demonstration during Operation Desert Shield.
Courtesy United States Air Force
From 1899 until 1961, Kuwait remained, in effect, a
British
protectorate. A succession of amirs of the Al Sabah ruled
the
country, but the handling of its foreign affairs was a
British
prerogative, and Britain guaranteed the security of the
amirate.
Kuwaiti forces consisted of the amir's royal guard plus a
small
domestic police force or constabulary under the British
administration. During the 1920s and 1930s, British
protection
became particularly important in deterring Saudi
encroachment and
later in blocking Iraqi territorial claims. By
independence on
June 19, 1961, the British had converted the 600-man
constabulary
into a combined arms brigade of 2,500 men trained by a
British
military mission. Small air and naval forces were also
established in 1961 under British tutelage.
With its small size and enormous oil wealth, Kuwait
occupies
an uneasy position at the head of the gulf. One of its
powerful
neighbors, Iran, only forty kilometers away, had
proclaimed its
aim of exporting its Islamic revolution; the other
powerful
neighbor, Iraq, had repeatedly challenged Kuwait's
legitimacy
(see Territorial Disputes
, this ch.). Fearful of the
radical
leadership in Iran, Kuwait aided Iraq during the Iran-Iraq
War by
permitting the transshipment of goods across its territory
and by
loans of about US$6 billion. Kuwait responded to terrorist
bombings and other violence inspired by Iran by
intensifying its
military cooperation with the GCC and by building up its
own
forces. Although formally neutral and reluctant to become
involved with the great powers except as a last resort,
Kuwait
turned to the United States, the Soviet Union, and Britain
for
naval protection of its tanker fleet after twenty-one
ships were
attacked in the gulf in the six months preceding April
1987.
Iraq's surprise attack and occupation of Kuwait caused
the
virtual disintegration of the Kuwaiti armed forces. Large
numbers
of personnel were killed, captured, or dispersed, and most
Kuwaiti equipment was destroyed or taken over by the Iraqi
armed
forces. The minister of defense said that 90 percent of
military
installations had suffered major damage. By early 1992,
most army
barracks were again usable, and the naval base was in
operation
but needed rebuilding. The air force flew temporarily from
the
civilian airport near the city of Kuwait while the air
bases were
being reconstructed in 1992. Kuwait expected to spend
about US$9
billion--six times the prewar defense budget--in 1992 to
replace
destroyed equipment and installations.
In a sharp departure from previous policy, Kuwait
entered
into a ten-year defense cooperation agreement with the
United
States in September 1991. The agreement included United
States
port access, military equipment storage, and joint
training and
exercises. The agreement did not provide for the
stationing of
United States service personnel in Kuwait; 1,500 personnel
remaining after the gulf war were scheduled to leave
within a few
months. Similar but less extensive ten-year cooperation
agreements were subsequently concluded with Britain and
France.
Data as of January 1993
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