History of the Kuwait-Iraq Border Dispute
Kuwait has never been part of Iraq. It was an independent political entity (1899) before Iraq was carved out of the Ottoman Empire(1923) by colonial powers at the close of World War One.
Iraq maintains that Kuwait was merely a territory within the Ottoman vilayet (an Ottoman administrative district similar to a province or governorate) that was administered by Basra, a city in modern day Iraq. This claim is not supported by historical evidence. Although there were very brief periods when a ruler of Kuwait paid tribute to an Ottoman ruler, Kuwait’s independence long preceded that of Iraq’s independence from the Ottomans. As early as 1863 the British representative to the Gulf reported that Kuwait was “practically independent despite recognizing Turkish suzerainty.”[1] Three years later a different British officer wrote that Kuwait paid no tribute to the Ottoman authorities.[2] Kuwaiti citizens paid no taxes to the Turks, and Kuwaitis were never conscripted into the Ottoman military.[3] And most telling, Kuwait never housed an Ottoman garrison.[4]
Later, on July 20, 1961, the Arab League, in the absence of the Iraqi delegation, unanimously voted to admit Kuwait as a member. Inasmuch as membership in the Arab League is limited to independent Arab states by virtue of the League’s charter, the unanimous consent of the other Arab states represented a universal Arab recognition (excepting Iraq) of Kuwait’s independent and sovereign status.[15] After Kuwait’s admission into the League, Iraq’s Baathist regime dealt with Kuwait for 30 years as a sovereign state.
The impetus behind Iraq’s claims to Kuwait does not stem from historical will, but rather from Iraq’s desire to secure a deep-water port.
