troops will leave behind when they
evacuate the country.
The Syrian Connection
And there are concerns about changes in
the U.S. relationship with Syria.
Syria's president Hafaz al-Assad remains
Saddam Hussein's strongest opponent
within the Arab world. Already, there are
strong signs of an administration move to
strengthen relations with the Damascus
government.
Last week, the administration an-
nounced that Assistant Secretary of State
for Near East Affairs John H. Kelly would
be traveling to Syria to discuss joint
responses to the crisis in the Gulf — an un-
precedented effort that could send
reverberations through the U.S.-Israeli
relationship.
"It makes sense to approach Syria, from
the administration's point of view," said a
leading pro-Israel activist here. "But frank-
ly, it makes us nervous because we can't
see how it might impact policies towards
the peace process in the future. It's a ge-
nuine unknown."
Changes In Foggy Bottom?
Finally, there is hope here that the Iraqi
affair will result in some fundamental
change in the administration's attitudes
towards Israel.
Pro-Israel activists quietly talk about
the example set by George Shultz, the
Reagan-era secretary of state whose arrival
in Foggy Bottom produced deep anxiety
among Israel's supporters.
But the bombing of the marine barracks
in Beirut in 1983 genuinely shocked Shultz
and changed his perspective on the Mid-
dle East. After the bombing, which
resulted in the death of 241 U.S. marines,
he became a steadfast supporter of Israel.
Saddam Hussein's ravaging of Kuwait,
pro-Israel activists have been quietly sug-
gesting this week, could serve the same
function for Secretary of State James
Baker by providing a strong dose of Mid-
dle East reality.
So far, there are no indications that Mr.
Baker's tough views on the Arab-Israeli
conflict are changing.
"It's not an expectation," said Malcolm
Hoenlein, executive director of the Con-
ference of Major American Jewish
Organizations. "But it's a possibility."
Mr. Hoenlein argued that the current
situation is still very fluid — and that it
is too early to anticipate a softening in of-
ficial U.S. policy towards Israel.
"It could work either way. After having
a confrontation with the Arab world, the
administration might feel it appropriate to
push harder on the peace process after a
while. Or, it could give Baker a greater ap-
preciation of what Israel faces, of what
Israel has contended all along. It's too ear-
ly to tell yet; that's why it's important to
simply let things develop."
❑
Kuwaitis demonstrate in Damascus denouncing the Iraqi invasion of their country.
Iraqi-Kuwait Deja Vu
raq's seizure of Kuwait smacks of
geopolitical deja vu. Almost thirty
years ago, Iraq made a failed at-
tempt at grabbing Kuwait. But unlike
the events of three weeks ago, Iraq was
dissuaded from attacking its neighbor
by 6,000 British troops who were
airlifted to the tiny nation. These were
soon replaced by a pan-Arabic force
under the aegis of the Arab League.
In the 1961 incident, not a shot was
fired. But that was during the reign of
Iraqi General Abdel Karim Kassem, a
less militant version of Saddam Hus-
sein. This was also before Iraq ac-
quired chemical weapons — and was on
its way to becoming a nuclear power.
In early June, 1961, General Kassem
declared that Kuwait was part of Iraq.
The general's statement was the cul-
mination of several centuries of Iraqi
interest in acquiring Kuwait. He made
his move against Kuwait just a few
months after Britain and Kuwait had
terminated their 67-year-old agree-
ment giving the United Kingdom re-
sponsibility for conducting Kuwait's
foreign policy. Ending this agreement
had, in effect, made Kuwait a fully in-
dependent nation.
Much like recent events, the Kuwait
government announced that it was
confident that all friendly countries,
I
"especially sisterly Arab states,"
would side with it against Iraq. Mean-
while, Baghdad was telling foreign
embassies that "Kuwait is part of
Iraq... This fact is attested by history
and no good purpose is served by
imperialism denying or distorting it."
Verbally, the world, including most
of the Arab states, rushed to Kuwait's
defense. Militarily, Britain sent thous-
ands of troops and Saudi Arabia sent a
token force. England also sent war-
ships, tanks and armored cars. The
British laid minefields across Kuwait's
northern desert as Cairo and Moscow
called for the withdrawal of foreign
troops.
In mid-July, the Arab League
granted membership to the sheikdom,
thus recognizing its independence and
frustrating Iraq's claim for sovereign-
ty. The Arab League also acceded to
Kuwait's request that it send a contin-
gent to replace British forces. Troops
from the United Arab Republic re-
mained for six months; those from Jor-
dan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan stayed
until February, 1963.
Eight months later, Iraq recognized
Kuwait's independence. Twenty-eight
years after that — three weeks ago —
Iraq occupied Kuwait, claiming, once
again, that the two nations were one. 0
Arthur Magda
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