If you listen to the advice of advice, how can the country die in Huangquan
Saddam's thoughts
On December 30, 2006, at 11:05 a.m. Beijing time, at around 6 a.m. local time in Iraq, Saddam Hussein was hanged. Before leaving, his last words were: "Without me, Iraq will be worthless." ”
Saddam Hussein before his execution
On July 16, 1979, Saddam Hussein came to power in a coup d'état and became the supreme ruler of Iraq. At this time, Iraq should be considered a rich country, with a per capita GDP of $5,500. Almost every middle-class household has a car. All people enjoy free medical care and education. Living in the city, a middle-class family can own a house of 80 square meters (excluding public shares) with only a small amount of money, and do not need to be burdened with a mortgage for decades like in East Asian countries. At that time, thousands of migrant workers from Egypt, Somalia and the Indian subcontinent came to Iraq to work handsomely, earning handsomely.
Of course, Iraq is a country that depends on oil for its food, and the entire Iraqi economy is built on fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, and the oil industry provides about 99.7% of foreign exchange earnings. This has not changed to this day. Although the rise and fall of international oil prices will directly affect Iraq's economy, if Iraq lives peacefully until today, the living standards of the people will be on par with those of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries.
Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, in 1980
However, the restless Saddam Hussein launched a war with Iran soon after he came to power, and this "Iran-Iraq war" lasted for 10 years. As a result, Iraq's per capita GDP has fallen from $5,500 to $1,000, and it has also been saddled with $40 billion in foreign debt, including $14 billion borrowed from Kuwait. Because of the huge differences between Kuwait and Iraq over the oil production policy, Saddam Hussein was moved to destroy Kuwait as a creditor. Of course, Saddam Hussein at that time was not afraid of possible US intervention, and he also sought the attitude of the United States towards the conflict in this region. However, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq did not make it clear how the U.S. would respond to the conflict, so much so that this miscalculation strengthened Saddam's conviction that it was feasible to take military action against Kuwait. As a result, Iraq began to prepare for action against Kuwait, which involved not only the specific arrangements for military action, but also how to quickly control Kuwait's oil fields and financial resources, and how to respond to a possible international response.
Iran-Iraq war
On 2 August 1990, Iraq began its military operations to invade Kuwait. Crushed by Iraq's formidable military forces, the Kuwaiti army has no power to resist. In less than two days, the entire territory of Kuwait was occupied, making it the 19th province of Iraq. What Saddam did not expect was that Iraq's act of aggression was strongly condemned by the international community. On the day of the incident, the United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting and adopted a resolution condemning Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, known as "Joint Resolution 660". Iraq is required to withdraw all its forces immediately and unconditionally to its positions on 1 August 1990. What surprised Saddam Hussein even more was that the US Bush administration took a tough stance and began to build up troops on the Kuwaiti border as soon as the Joint Resolution 660 was issued......
Saddam Hussein's speech to the Iraqi army (August 2, 1990)
At a time when the army was pressing down on the territory and "black clouds were crushing the city and wanted to destroy it," although many Middle Eastern countries persuaded Saddam Hussein to "stop it" as soon as possible, Saddam Hussein, who was in a daze, had no intention of stopping. On 15 October, King Hussein of Jordan expressed the hope that the Chinese government would send a high-level special envoy to Iraq to persuade Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait and avoid a rekindle of war in the Middle East. Therefore, the former PLO, Oman, and other Middle Eastern countries also have this intention, so the Chinese Government has decided to send Foreign Minister Qian Qichen to visit Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, and other four Middle Eastern countries to strive for a peaceful settlement of the crisis.
Perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was intentional, on the day of Qian Qichen's visit to Egypt, US Secretary of State Baker also visited Egypt. Now that we've met, let's talk about it. On November 6, the meeting between the two foreign ministers of China and the United States at Cairo Airport began. What the Chinese want to know is whether the United States really wants to go to war with Iraq and the scope of the war. What Americans want to know is China's position and attitude on this issue, that is, whether China will intervene in the event of war. As a result, both sides got the answers they wanted. Baker told Qian Qichen that once the war began, military operations would not be limited to Kuwait, but also to Iraq itself. Qian Qichen told Baker that although China would not put forward a proposal to "use force" against Iraq, it would also not oppose or intervene in the military action to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. In fact, Qian Qichen's meeting with Baker was far more rewarding than the meeting with the leaders of other Middle Eastern countries.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen with U.S. Secretary of State Baker
On November 11, the day of Singles' Day, Qian Qichen's special plane arrived at Saddam Hussein's International Airport in Iraq and held talks with Iraqi Foreign Minister Aziz first. This Akiz is not only Saddam's foreign affairs think tank, but also one of the core figures of Saddam's ruling circle. Anyone who came into contact with Aziz thought he was a difficult master. Sure enough, this Aziz made a preemptive strike, and he insisted that after the "August 2" incident, it was not that Iraq was unwilling to talk to the United States, Britain and other countries to discuss solutions, but that these Western countries ignored them. In other words, it is not Iraq's fault that has caused such a confrontation, but the United States, Britain, and other countries. Aziz also unashamedly diverted his attention, pointing out that the "2 August" incident is not the only major problem in the Gulf region, but the Palestinian issue is the most important issue. To this day, Israel still does not implement the resolutions of the Security Council and continues to expand externally, and the Gulf countries are threatened by Israel.
Qian Qichen told Aziz in earnest that a military invasion by one country against another is an untouchable "bottom line" in international affairs. The Chinese Government has always maintained that the issue should be resolved by peaceful means between countries, and opposes military invasions, whether it is the US invasion of Panama, the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, or Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Aziz
Qian Qichen conveyed US Secretary of State Baker's original remarks as they were, and said that if there is a pragmatic solution in Iraq, China is willing to convey it to Western countries and hold consultations on this. Unexpectedly, Aziz still absurdly believes that the deployment of troops by the United States and its allies is nothing more than a threat and blackmail, and that they have nothing to fear if war is really imposed on Iraq.
Obviously, Qian Qichen's words of "good medicine and bitter mouth" did not make Aziz wake up. The next day, after Qian Qichen met with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, he finally met the evil Saddam Hussein in the eyes of Westerners. Saddam Hussein left the impression that Qian Qichen was very burly and had a strong handshake. He had suffered a stroke and was paralyzed, and it seemed that the corners of his mouth were still a little crooked.
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
After handing over a handwritten letter from President Yang Shangkun to Saddam, Qian Qichen expressed his intentions straight to the point. Perhaps it was because he was "a thief with a weak heart", or perhaps because he urgently needed China to pull him along, Saddam Hussein was stunned to talk about Hong Kong's return to China. He said that Kuwait is an inalienable part of Iraq, just like Hong Kong is to China, and it is an inherent territory of the two countries since ancient times. Before Qian Qichen could answer, Saddam Hussein suddenly changed his tone and went straight to the question he was concerned about: "Does the United States really plan to go to war?" ”
Qian Qichen did not directly answer Saddam's question, but first corrected Saddam's fallacy: "The Kuwait issue and the Hong Kong issue are not the same thing. "Historically, Kuwait and Iraq did belong to the same country, that country was Ottoman Turkey, which at that time was a cantonal administrative unit under the Iraqi province of Basra. After World War II, Iraq became an independent state in 1958 and Kuwait was established three years later, both of which were recognized by the international community as sovereign states. Neither the former Kingdom of Iraq nor the current Republic of Iraq ever had sovereignty over Kuwait, and Iraq and Kuwait have diplomatic relations and have established embassies in each other's countries, which is completely different from the Hong Kong issue.
Location map of Iraq and Kuwait
However, to the hearts of Iraqis, Kuwait has a coastline five times that of Iraq despite its small size, and there are a large number of excellent ports in the Persian Gulf. Iraq's access to the sea is not only extremely narrow, but also in a very bad condition. This is one of the important reasons why Iraq wants to take Kuwait.
After clarifying this concept, Qian Qichen talked about the matter that Saddam Hussein was most concerned about. He clearly informed Saddam:
1. The United Nations resolution has not authorized any country to send troops, but the United States and its allies have formed a coalition force.
2. If Iraq does not withdraw its troops from Kuwait, the coalition forces will not only drive Iraq's troops out of Kuwait, but the flames of war will inevitably spread to Iraq itself.
I don't know whether Saddam Hussein "pretended to be confused" or deliberately "slapped a swollen face and became fat," but instead put on a show and said: "Before the United States withdraws its troops and lifts all sanctions against Iraq, any clear statement by Iraq may trigger serious consequences." With that, he got up straight from the couch. It seems that "the words are not speculative for more than half a sentence", this is to send off guests. Seeing this, Qian Qichen also calmly got up and said goodbye to Saddam Hussein and left.
Qian Qichen stayed in Iraq for two days and also got two results. First, we have found out the pulse of Saddam's "refusal to withdraw troops." Second, it came to the conclusion that Saddam Hussein was also "unremedy."
Many years later, some people "made suggestions" for Saddam Hussein. It was believed that Iraq could use the "weight" of its de facto occupation of Kuwait to put forward a number of conditions acceptable to Kuwait and the international community, such as the forgiveness of the $14 billion debt owed to Kuwait and the cession or joint management of a number of Kuwaiti ports by Kuwait. These are all negotiable conditions at the negotiating table, and they are all earned, and they can not only allow Iraq to withdraw its troops with dignity, but also keep Iraq safe and sound. If Saddam Hussein had been able to operate in this way, perhaps Iraq would not have been so "devastated," and perhaps Saddam Hussein would not have been "forever destroyed.....
The day of the ultimatum has arrived. On 29 November 1990, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 678, demanding that Iraq withdraw unconditionally from Kuwait by 15 January 1991. If Iraq does not comply with this demand, the United Nations will use all necessary means, including the use of force, to expel the Iraqi army.
The United Nations Security Council voted to adopt Resolution 678
On January 16, 1991, the U.S.-led multinational force of 34 countries launched the "Desert Storm," which won a decisive victory at a relatively small cost through 38 days of air raids and 100 hours of land warfare, inflicting heavy losses on the Iraqi army. Iraq eventually accepted UN Resolution 660 and withdrew its forces from Kuwait. In this campaign, Iraq not only failed to incorporate Kuwait into its territory, but was also ordered by the International Court of Justice to pay $52.4 billion in war reparations. Saddam Hussein suddenly sent Iraq back to its "pre-liberation period," and Iraq, which was beleaguered both internally and externally, was in unspeakable pain.
In order to get out of the predicament quickly, and more importantly, to get rid of the US control over oil, Saddam decided to use the euro to settle the oil trade. This move undoubtedly moved the cheese of the Americans and challenged the reverse scale of the United States. If this is left unchecked, other oil producers will follow suit, and the resulting "domino" effect will directly shake the hegemony of the dollar. As a result, the United States decided to kill Iraq, and the countdown to Saddam's end began......
On March 20, 2003, a joint force, led by the British and American forces, circumvented the United Nations Security Council and unilaterally launched a military strike against Iraq on the grounds that Iraq was possessing weapons of mass destruction and secretly supporting terrorists. After more than seven years until the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraq in August 2010, the US finally failed to find weapons of mass destruction, but ended the war on the grounds that Saddam's regime had already destroyed documents and witnesses. On December 18, 2011, all U.S. troops withdrew.
Saddam Hussein was captured by the U.S. military after eight months on the run. He was sentenced to death by hanging on 5 November 2006 and executed on 30 December. On June 5, 2015, Aziz, who surrendered to the U.S. military to save his family's name, died in prison at the age of 79. On May 9, 2017, Qian Qichen died of illness in Beijing at the age of 90. Now, in November 1991, the three people who "intersected" in Baghdad are all gone. Perhaps Saddam Hussein and Aziz, who had gone to meet "Allah," still remember that meeting? If you still remember, I wonder if the two of you have any understanding of the Chinese idiom "loyalty is against the ear, good medicine is bitter"?
*The picture is from the Internet, if there is an infringement dispute, it will be deleted