According to Association of Diplomatic Studies & Training, April Glaspie told Saddam what American policy had been vis-Ã -vis the Arab borders since the beginning of the division of the Arab region into the nation states; i.e., that the United States doesn't take a position on the merits of a particular border dispute but wants only that such disputes be resolved diplomatically or through international arbitration.
She left the day after she met with Saddam on a long-planned leave that included home leave, medical leave for both her and her aged mother who was living with her at the time, as well as consultations in Washington.
My friend, Mr. Zafar Malik, in his book "Kuwait War 1990 & Its Aftermath", refers to April Glaspie's meeting with Saddam Hussein in these words: Only a few days after that crucial meeting, Saddam's forces overran Kuwait. Saddam perhaps thought that the US ambassador had given him the indication that he was free to do as he chose, and that the United States would not interfere in his actions. That was all the encouragement Saddam needed to assemble his war-gear, don his war uniform once again, and march right into Kuwait, to have yet another 'victory' emblazoned on his lapels. [p-297-298]
About April Glaspie's meeting with Saddam Hussein, Prof. David Klein of California State University, Northridge, wrote in January 2003:
"On September 18, 1990, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry published verbatim the transcripts of meetings between Saddam Hussein and high-level U.S. officials. Knight-Ridder columnist James McCartney acknowledged that the transcripts were not disputed by the U.S. State Department. U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie informed Hussein that, 'We have no opinion on... conflicts like your border disagreement with Kuwait.' She reiterated this position several times, and added, 'Secretary of State James Baker has directed our official spokesman to emphasize this instruction.'
"A week before Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, Baker's spokesperson, Margaret Tutwiler, and Assistant Secretary of State John Kelly both stated publicly that 'the United States was not obligated to come to Kuwait's aid if it were attacked.' Two days before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Assistant Secretary of State John Kelly testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee that 'the United States has no defense treaty relationship with any Gulf country.' The New York Daily News editorialized on September 29, 1990, 'Small wonder Saddam concluded he could overrun Kuwait. Bush and Co. gave him no reason to believe otherwise.'"
Illusions of triumphs: An Arab view of the Gulf War
Prominent Egyptian writer Mohamed Heikal wrote a best-seller book in 1992 titled Illusions of triumphs: An Arab view of the Gulf War. He challenged the western view that the Gulf war was a crushing victory for international cooperation over a brutal dictator.
Heikal asks why did Saddam Hussein enjoy the support of millions in the Arab and Third Worlds? Why did many Arabs feel a degree of sympathy for Iraq's long-standing complaints about Kuwait? Why did President Bush give the Arab World only 48 hours to find an Arab solution to the crisis? Why did most Arab countries find it impossible to share the West's euphoria after the defeat of Iraq?
The war brought feelings of shock caused by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, followed by feelings of guilt among Arabs who participated in or condoned the devastation of an Arab country by an American-led coalition.
Washington wanted Arabs to feel that the US was defending them against an aggressor; the reality was that the US defended its own interest, and used methods of divide and rule to achieve its aims after the invasion of Kuwait. Playing on the fears of weak, rich, tribal societies surrounded by oceans of poverty and need, the Americans had no difficulty in convincing kings and sheikhs (who had long been conditioned to accept the need of American protection) that Baghdad was planning to seize their thrones.
500,000 Iraqi children died
In the aftermath of Iraqi invasion of Kuwait severe economic sanctions were imposed on Iraq by the United Nations, which impacted the life of Iraqis who faced shortages of medicines. High rates of malnutrition, lack of medical supplies, and diseases from lack of clean water were reported during sanctions. In 2001, the chairman of the Iraqi Medical Association's scientific committee sent a plea to the British Medical Journal to help it raise awareness of the disastrous effects the sanctions were having on the Iraqi healthcare system.It was reported that at least 500,000 children died because of lack of medicine and sufficient food.
Tellingly, Madeleine Albright, the former US Secretary of State, said on May 12, 1996, that the deaths of half a million children as a result of the absolute, all-embracing deprivations of the UN embargo were: "A hard choice, but the price, we think the price is worth it." Albright was US ambassador to UN when she gave this interview.
In May 2012 Albright was awarded by President Barack Obama the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the highest honor awarded to civilians in the United States.
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