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Baghdad had justified their invasion of Kuwait in terms of supporting a popular revolution in the country. Initial communiques from Baghdad spoke of organising elections, and then withdrawing. Iraq's ambassador to the United States, Mohammed al-Mashat, delivered a promise that it would not be long before the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait took effect.

Over the months which followed, Iraq's tactic of promising to withdraw at a future time and failing ever to do so, was to become a familiar one until, 5 months after the invasion, the air strikes against Iraq began.

Events were viewed with particular concern in the Middle East. It had been suspected for some time that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction. Israel, in particular, was worried about the prospect of a nuclear, chemical or biological missile attack on its main cities.

The Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Arens called for an international response to the Iraqi invasion, which he described as reminiscent of what happened in Europe in the 1930s.

"It is essential that the international community band together to make clear to Saddam Hussein that he will not be able to continue this kind of aggression", he said.

The oil factor
Iraq's actions were seen not only as a clear-cut breach of international law, but also as a threat to oil supplies. Kuwait was one of the world's leading suppliers, and nobody could predict whether Saddam Hussein also had his eye on Saudi Arabia's enormous reserves.

President Bush never disguised his concerns:
"The economic aspects of this are well-known to the American people. And long run economic effects on the free world could be devastating", he said.

Sanctions
Four days after the initial invasion the UN Security Council passed resolution No. 661 imposing sanctions on Iraq. Another UN Security Council resolution passed in September 1990 imposed sea and air embargoes against Iraq. 10 years on these sanctions and embargoes still apply, though increasingly these are flouted.

The Security Council, led by Great Britain and the United States, insists the sanctions must remain to control the perceived security threat posed by Saddam Hussein. Recently, though, pressure has been mounting both in the West and among Arab states for sanctions to be suspended. And on flights, Russia and France argue it only requires states to notify the UN in advance of any planned flights and does not in any case cover private non-commercial flights.