Bush handled the conflict. The Gulf War had caused much more damage to Iraqi infrastructure than American officials had anticipated or acknowledged. As a result, the conflict contributed to an acute humanitarian crisis that developed during and after the war. In response, the United States insisted on keeping economic sanctions on Iraq in place to coerce the Iraqi regime into full compliance.
However, these sanctions further deepened the emerging humanitarian crisis in Iraq, punishing civilians for the crimes of a regime that they had little ability to influence. This outcome was not inevitable. Following the war, at least two opportunities arose for finding a formula to hold Baghdad accountable while also alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Iraq. As new archival material makes clear, the American failure to seize either of these opportunities caused lasting, and probably irreparable, damage to U.
Iraqi records show that once Clinton replaced Bush, Baghdad was prepared to adjust its approach to the United States and the international community. As a result, the United States had a clear chance to establish a more sustainable policy on Iraq. Both of these opportunities offered a way out of the dilemma that America faced in the wake of the Gulf War and seizing them would have led to more favorable outcomes for U. Yet, the fallout from that war ultimately undermined any hopes for such a system.
The resulting frustration and ill will propelled the United States into the Iraq War, which only further undermined its international standing. Most critical analyses of the Gulf War fail to consider the aftermath of the war. In fact, most debates about Iraq that occurred in β including debates about regime change β had their origins in the dilemma that the Gulf War created for U.
This article explicitly links these events, offering a corrective to historical narratives of the Iraq wars. These insights stem from new research with Iraqi, American, and U. This article first describes the policy dilemma that the United States faced following the Gulf War. It then discusses the opportunities that the United States missed to deal with that dilemma. Finally, the article shows how these missed opportunities weakened the post-Cold War international system and ultimately contributed to the American decision to invade Iraq in The months following the end of the Gulf War presented the international community with competing images of triumph and despair: triumph for the United States and the United Nations, despair for Iraq and its civilian population.
