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Article: Let Iraq collapse. (benefits of an Iraqi break-up)
- Article from:
- The National Interest
- Article date:
- September 22, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1996 The National Interest, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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February 28, 1996 marked the fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led coalition's defeat of Iraq, a military triumph that resulted in the liberation of Kuwait and the extension of U.S. power and influence in the Persian Gulf. The following month, however, marked a different anniversary, one less gratifying to American self-esteem. For it was in March 1991 that Saddam Hussein brutally suppressed rebellions by Iraqi Kurds and Shi'a while the American president and other Western leaders passively looked on, out of respect for Iraq's territorial integrity.
The U.S. commitment to the territorial integrity of Iraq was mistaken then and remains ill-considered now. Opponents of ...