Out of the 3 reasons for the conflict between Kuwait and Iraq, I find that dispute over territory is the most significant cause.

The first cause of the dispute over territory is a problem which was left behind by the British. Iraq and Kuwait had inherited their borders from the British. However, some of these territories and borders were not well-defined and continued to create problems for both sides after they had gained independence. The unclearly-defined borders between Iraq and Kuwait had resulted in both countries sharing a profitable oilfield, the Rumaila oilfield. This is a tricky problem as it cannot be resolved by just drawing a dividing line between the Rumaila oilfields. This has badly affected the relations between the 2 countries, and will continue to do so in future.

The next bone of contention over territory is over the 2 islands, Bubiyan and Warbah. The 2 islands are strategically located off the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. With these 2 islands, Kuwait could block off Iraq’s access to the Gulf. The Iraqi port, Umm Qasr, was too shallow and therefore big ships could not dock. Also, most of the port facilities in Umm Qasr had been destroyed. Therefore, Iraq was afraid that Kuwait would make use of the 2 islands to block off their access to the Gulf. Kuwait, on the other hand, did not want to lease the 2 island to Iraq as they were afraid that by doing so, it would lead to further territorial demands from Iraq.

The second cause of the dispute was the over-production of oil by Kuwait. Iraq wanted to produce oil so as to sell them in hope to pay off the debt that they owed. They also intended to use the profit earned from the production of oil to rebuild the country. However, instead of earning profits, the Iraqis lost a lot of revenue as Kuwait and UAE did not follow the quota on the amount of oil that they could produce. The over-production of oil caused the oil prices to drop. Iraq felt that Kuwait was waging an economic war on them.

The third cause of dispute was the historical enmity. Both Iraq and Kuwait are neighboring countries that share a common history and culture. When Kuwait gained independence, Iraq refused to recognize Kuwait’s independence as it claimed that Kuwait was historically a part of Iraq and was governed under the same territory when they were both under Ottoman rule. It also had several occasions on claiming sovereignty over Kuwait and even sent troops to claim Kuwait. It only gave up on Kuwait after facing pressure from its Arab neighbors.