With hindsight it looks so obvious, so wickedly brilliant. There sat Kuwait, fat and ripe, bulging with enormous reserves of oil and cash, boasting an excellent port on the Persian Gulf -- and utterly incapable of defending itself against Iraq's proficient war machine. Saddam Hussein, hungry for money but greedier still for regional dominance, knew before the first of his soldiers crossed the border that it would be a walkover -- and it was. In 12 hours, Kuwait was his.
With his brief romp through the desert, the imperious Iraqi President doubled the oil under his control to some 20% of...
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