Bowen: Trump has called for an Iran uprising but the lessons from Iraq in 1991 loom large
Bowen: Trump has called for an Iran uprising but the lessons from Iraq in 1991 loom large
I’ve witnessed the fallout when an American leader ignites a rebellion but withdraws once it gains momentum. This experience stems from my time in Baghdad during the early days of the first Gulf War, a conflict that began with the U.S. and its allies launching a massive campaign to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. At that time, President George H.W. Bush visited a Patriot missile factory in Massachusetts, praising the workers who had produced what was hailed as a groundbreaking weapon. The Patriots, designed to intercept incoming missiles, were a symbol of hope in the war’s opening phase, though their effectiveness would later be tested in both Ukraine and the current Iranian conflict.
As the war unfolded, the combined air forces of the U.S., UK, and their allies were targeting Iraqi cities while tens of thousands of troops amassed on the borders, preparing for the ground assault that was still nine days away. A few days before Bush’s speech, an American airstrike had killed over 400 civilians in Amiriyah, a Baghdad suburb. Despite claims that the attack had hit a command center, I saw the bodies—mostly children, women, and the elderly—and the shelter still smoldering, confirming the tragedy. At the time, I didn’t fully grasp the implications of Bush’s words, but 35 years later, the echoes of his rhetoric resonate when Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu speak of Iran’s people having a chance to overthrow their government without guaranteed backing.
“There’s another way for the bloodshed to stop… and that is for the Iraqi military and the Iraqi people to take matters into their own hands and force Saddam Hussein, the dictator, to step aside…”
Bush’s speech, brief yet pivotal, urged Saddam Hussein to comply with UN resolutions. The first Gulf War had the backing of the UN Security Council, unlike the current conflict. However, his call for grassroots action proved problematic. Some Iraqis heeded the message, sparking uprisings in the south and north after the Iraqi army was driven from Kuwait. The coalition nations—America, Britain, France, and others—watched without intervening, leaving Hussein’s regime to retaliate. His forces crushed the Kurdish and Shia rebellions, killing thousands who believed the U.S. would support their cause.
By the time I reached the Kurdish region, the landscape was frozen and snowy, a stark contrast to the chaos of war. Tens of thousands of Kurds had fled there, recounting horrors at the hands of Hussein’s troops. Each morning, I saw fathers carrying the bodies of their children—tiny bundles wrapped in blankets—whose lives had been lost to the cold or dysentery. The coalition eventually felt compelled to launch a humanitarian effort, rescuing the Kurds from the brink. In the south, the Shia faced a more brutal fate, with their revolt quashed without aid.
The first Gulf War sowed the seeds for future conflicts. Years later, the second President Bush toppled Saddam Hussein, a move that Iran benefited from. Now, this third war aims to dismantle the Islamic Republic’s growing influence, which surged after 2003. The bombing campaign targets Iran’s military and nuclear aspirations, with Israel viewing them as existential threats. Trump’s decision to engage in this conflict, as a joint venture with Israel, marks a stark departure from the UN-backed approach of the past. The lessons of 1991—of promises unfulfilled and consequences unaddressed—continue to shape the outcome of today’s upheaval.
