The Persian Gulf War (I)
Written by Alfonso Elizondo
At the moment global geopolitics points to the fact that the Middle East region where the Persian Gulf is located is the most serious international conflict zone of all and perhaps the area where a third world war will begin. The economic consequences of this war are is the physical damage caused in the region plus the economic sanctions that were applied to Iraq.
But the facts indicate that the most controversial factor has been the issue of oil which regained its stability after the UN forces were established in the area, so there were no problems with its price.
It is estimated that after the war, the Iraqi government paid about 75 billion dollars to Kuwait, not to mention that the economic embargo on Iraq is still in effect, so that right now it has no commercial exchange with other world powers.
Reports from some independent think tanks have pointed out that hundreds of thousands of children have died of hunger and endemic diseases because the country does not have the necessary resources to address these problems.
Even oil exports have not been a solution to the problem, since the resources of the State are not enough for the reconstruction of a country that was completely destroyed but refuses to leave conflicts behind and is still making the Persian Gulf area a center of global conflict, with other serious social consequences.
The destruction of Iraq is one thing that created the greatest impact after the end of the war. It could be said that the Gulf War ended up destroying a society that was in very bad shape because of its military conflicts as well as the politicians inside the country.
Since the war with Iran, Iraqi society had already been damaged and then they ended up destroying a country where power was based on weapons and on the political dictatorship of Saddam Hussein who used to sacrifice thousands of civilians in order to fulfil his objectives.
The statistics show that there were more than 40,000 Iraqi casualties that translated into orphaned children, single mothers and destroyed homes. The economy also caused a worsening of the social impact of the War, which left the country in extreme poverty, leading to the upsurge of revolt against the government.
Cultural shock was a minor but very important consequence of the arrival of coalition soldiers in the Middle East since women, who were almost men’s equal, became almost an object in the Islamic world. This situation was traumatic for many soldiers who were in the region, particularly for the Americans.
Addendum: In the next article I will analyze other aspects of the Persian Gulf War that are still unresolved even now.