In examining whether there was a conspiracy against Iraq and Saddam
Hussein, we must consider, in addition to the indications mentioned
above, the following:

Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat has asserted
that Washington thwarted the chance for a peaceful resolution of the
differences between Kuwait and Iraq at an Arab summit in May, after
Saddam had offered to negotiate a mutually acceptable border with Kuwait.
The US was encouraging Kuwait not to offer any compromise, said
Arafat, "which meant there could be no negotiated solution to avoid the
Gulf crisis." Kuwait, he said, was led to believe it could rely on the
force of US arms instead.

Similarly, King Hussein of Jordan revealed that just before the Iraqi
invasion the Kuwaiti foreign minister stated: "We are not going to
respond to [Iraq] ... if they don't like it, let them occupy our
territory ... we are going to bring in the Americans." And that the
Kuwaiti emir told his military officers that in the event of an invasion,
their duty was to hold off the Iraqis for 24 hours
by then "American
and foreign forces would land in Kuwait and expel them." King Hussein
expressed the opinion that Arab understanding was that Saddam had been
goaded into invading, thereby stepping into a noose prepared for him.

The emir refused to accede to Iraq's financial demands, instead offering
an insulting half-million dollars to Baghdad. A note from him to his
prime minister before the invasion speaks of support of this policy
from Egypt, Washington and London. "Be unwavering in your discussions,"
the emir writes. "We are stronger than they [the Iraqis] think."

-W Blum