The United States has participated in various international invasions for various reasons. One of the major objectives during these foreign missions is to protect its own interest and in some cases the wellbeing of the host countries. Two of the wars that the United States has participated in are the First Gulf War and the Kosovo War. The First Gulf War occurred first as an international intervention to save Kuwait. Iraq, under the leadership of Saddam Hussein had invaded and annexed it. Iraq’s main objective for this invasion was to control Kuwait’s oil reserves. It ignored all the international pleas to stop the invasion. As a result, a coalition of thirty-four countries being led by the United States participated in the First Gulf War against Iraq.
The Kosovo War began in 1998. It was mainly facilitated by ethnic animosity between the Serbians and the Albanian Muslims (Jasen, 2003). Kosovo consisted of Albanian Muslims who were the majority and Serbians as the minority. However, much of the political power had been given to the minority Serbian due to political interference from Serbia’s government. As a result, the Albanian Muslims began to champion for their independence by forming the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). In retaliation, the Serbian government perpetuated ethnic cleansing which saw many Albanian Muslims killed. As a result, the international community intervened leading to the Kosovo War from 1998 to 1999. This paper discusses the differences between the First Gulf War and the Kosovo War.
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The nature of the First Gulf War and the Kosovo War differed in various ways. The Kosovo war was facilitated by ethnic tensions between the Kosovo Albanians and Serbians while the First Gulf War was a pure act of Iraq’s aggression against Kuwait. Kosovo was a region that comprised of Albanian Muslims who were the majority and a small percentage of Serbians. However, the political power had been allocated to the Serbians despite their status as the minority group under the influence of Slobodan Milosevic who was the president of Serbia. As a result, the Albanian Muslims felt oppressed and misrepresented (Jasen, 2003). In search of independence, they organized themselves by forming the LDK whose main objective was to champion for Kosovo’s freedom.
However, the Serbs felt that Kosovo was crucial and focused on retaining the unity of the former Yugoslavia. Therefore, they opposed any attempts to make Kosovo independent leading to the systematic killing of Albanian Muslims by the Serbian government. It is therefore evident that the Kosovo war was a result of ethnic animosity that facilitated the occurrence of a civil war which required international intervention (North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 1999). The First Gulf War, on the other hand, was a result of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Saddam Hussein who headed the country believed that the annexation of Kuwait would enable Iraq to control oil supply in the Middle East. This control would be important for Iraq since the country had sustained numerous debts due to its war with Iran.
The legacy of the past and history played a crucial role in facilitating the occurrence of both the Kosovo War and The First Gulf War. However, these two factors facilitated to the occurrence of the Kosovo War more than the First Gulf War. In as much as Kuwait and Iraq had previous confrontations, they were not critical enough to justify Iraq’s invasion of its neighboring state. The main reason for its invasion and annexation of Kuwait can be attributed to its desire to control and exploit Kuwait’s oil reserves. However, the case is different for the Kosovo War. Kosovo had been an autonomous state of Yugoslavia under the leadership of Josip Tito. However, Yugoslavia fell apart upon his death and Kosovo distanced itself from Serbia. However, Serbia, under the leadership of Slobodan Milosevic was determined to keep Kosovo as ones of its provinces. Kosovo, on the other hand, wanted free itself from Serbia. Therefore, it is evident that the history that Kosovo and Serbia shared in the past facilitated to the civil war that eventually led to the emergence of the Kosovo War. The Serbs wanted to keep Kosovo because it was significant especially in terms of culture (Jasen, 2003). This desire led to two constitutional amendments by Slobodan Milosevic which led to the annexation of Kosovo.
The First Gulf War and the Kosovo war were also different in that Kosovo War was mainly facilitated by political reasons while the First Gulf War was a combination of economic and political reasons. Kosovo wanted to acquire its own independence. However, Serbia felt that retaining Kosovo was important especially due to its cultural significance to Serbia. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait was both economical and political. The control over Kuwait’s oil reserve would put it in a position to settle its impending debts. Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait was also the beginning of a series of invasions to conquer other countries in the Middle East. Saddam Hussein was taking advantage of his well-equipped military force to exercise power over other countries. The control of Kuwait’s oil reserves was also an opportunity for Iraq to manipulate other countries given that they were depending on Kuwait for their oil supply.
In both the First Gulf War and the Kosovo war, the United States took the leadership role. However, it was more active and influential during the First Gulf War compared to the Kosovo war. During the First Gulf War, it took the initial step of deploying the United States’ forces to Saudi Arabia. George W. Bush then urged other countries to participate in the war as a way of protecting their own interests as well as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. This request saw the formation of the largest military alliance since World War 11(The Gulf War, n.d). The ability of the United to persuade other states was remarkable given that some of the countries that had previously opposed foreign invasions such as the United Kingdom agreed to send its troops to join the First Gulf War.
In addition, Russia which was an ally of Iraq condemned Iraq’s act of invading and annexing Kuwait in as much it did not send its troops to participate in the combat. In the Kosovo War, the United States took a much more reserved leadership role. It rallied behind NATO and other Western European countries. It did not engage in the active role of persuading other countries to participate in the Kosovo War as it had done in the First Gulf War. Unlike in the First Gulf War, the United States’ participation in the Kosovo war involved a combined effort of various countries such as Russia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom(A historic intervention: The U.S in Kosovo, n.d).The United States was the first to send its troops to Saudi Arabia when the First Gulf War began. However, much of the combat in the Kosovo war was by the NATO’s military force. The efforts by the United States are mainly seen during the Operation Allied Force whereby the United States’ Army and their Britain counterparts engaged in the bombing of Yugoslavia’s infrastructure such as roads and factories (Horn, 2000).
The cooperation against the act of aggression by Iraq towards Kuwait formed more easily compared to the Kosovo War. A coalition of thirty-four countries rallied behind the United States during the First Gulf War. They even went to the extent of offering monetary contributions which catered for the expenses of the war. The cooperation against Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait formed more easily because each of the countries had personal interests to defend. Saddam Hussein’s control of Kuwait which was supplying significant amounts of oil to other countries would give him a lot of power to manipulate other countries and this was a risk that none of the participants in the First Gulf War wanted to take.
In addition, the invasion of Kuwait was seen as the beginning of Hussein’s attempt to exercise power over other countries in the Middle East due to Iraqi’s military prowess. The members of the coalition during the First Gulf War were convinced that Iraqi’s invasion of other countries would continue unless Saddam Hussein was stopped through international invasion (The Gulf War, n.d). Cooperation during the Kosovo War was much more difficult to form compared to The First Gulf War. Many states remained hesitant due to a number of reasons. First, they argued that ethnic conflicts were common in Balkan states. Therefore, the conflict between the Serbians and Albanian Muslims was just another case of ethnic animosity as witnessed in the past. Second, it is difficult to intervene and succeed in a conflict that involves ethnic cleansing. Therefore, some states were convinced that the efforts to stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo would be futile. It is for this reason that the Kosovo War became the first foreign intervention that succeeded at stopping an act of ethnic cleansing. Third, the choice to participate in the Kosovo war was based on moral obligation rather than a country’s interest which was the case in the First Gulf War. It was a matter of protecting Albanian Muslims from the Serbian government which was perpetuating ethnic genocide (Starr, 1999).
In conclusion, it is evident that the Kosovo War and the First Gulf War bear some differences. The First Gulf War was as a result of Iraq’s aggression against Kuwait while Kosovo War was due to ethnic relations. Cooperation during the First Gulf War was formed more easily since each country had its own interest to defend. Iraq was a threat to other countries especially in the Middle East and the international community felt obliged to halt its efforts. However, this unity was not witnessed during the Kosovo War in comparison to The First Gulf War. The main reason that explains why some counties were hesitant is that they had no individual interests to protect. The Kosovo War was based on a moral obligation to protect the Albanian Muslims who were suffering in the hands of the Serbian government. Additionally, it would difficult for an international intervention to resolve a problem that involved ethnic conflicts. Most of such missions had failed in the past and many countries were not willing to participate in a mission that had a very high probability of failing. The United States participated in both wars. However, its leadership role in the First Gulf War was more active than in the Kosovo War. Part of this variation can be attributed to the fact that its interests would be threatened if Iraq continued to annex Kuwait. The United States under the leadership of George W. Bush managed to garner support from other countries against Iraq. However, the United States took a much more reserved role in the Kosovo War by rallying behind NATO and other Western European countries.
References
A historic intervention: The U.S in Kosovo.(n.d). Retrieved 7 February 2019, from http://www2.needham.k12.ma.us
Horn, G.(2000). Conflict in Kosovo. Farmington Hill: Gale Group.
Jansen, G. (2003 ). A short history of Kosovo . Retrieved7 February 2019, from https://www.lamar.colostate.edu
North Atlantic Treaty Organization.(1999). NATO’s role in relation to the conflict in Kosovo. Retrieved 7 February 2019, from https://www.nato.int
Starr, P.(1999). The choice in Kosovo . Retrieved 7 Februarys 2019, from https://www.princeton.edu
The Gulf War. (n.d). Retrieved 6 February 2019, from https://www.khanacademy.org
