France vs. Iraq

1991 - 1998

Core issue: Iraq's territorial aggression in Kuwait
and its non-compliance with UN resolutions

Type of conflict ending: Conflict Withering

The core issue of the frozen conflict between France and Iraq was related to the territorial aggression of Iraq in 1990, when Iraq annexed Kuwait and thus threatened to upset the balance of power in the Middle East. France developed an international policy for the Arab World during the Cold War within the context of decolonization. It attempted to create a deep and close diplomatic and economic relationship with Baghdad and became even one of its closest allies during the Iran-Iraq War through armaments and economic support. The annexation of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990 broke this relationship and led France to join an international coalition and military expedition against Iraq in 1991 which was then followed by a decade-long frozen conflict with Baghdad.

Iraq annexed Kuwait during a short military campaign in 1990. A US-led coalition was formed and authorized by the UN, and France took part in Operation Desert Field. The mission was soon transformed into a military operation to liberate Kuwait, better known by the name Operation Desert Storm, in 1991. This military operation led to a quick victory for the coalition and a ceasefire was established by the UN in 1991, followed by numerous resolutions that aimed to build a stable and durable peace in the region and renew the legitimacy and independence of Kuwait as a state. These resolutions were mainly targeting Saddam Hussein's regime through various measures like sanctions.

These measures were followed by actions of the US-led coalition after violence that occurred in Iraq against the Kurds in the north and the Shiite minority in the south. In order to assure the compliance of Baghdad with UN resolutions and maintain stability in the region by avoiding further violence in Iraq, the coalition established no-fly zones. This led to a military intervention by the coalition in 1991, which including France, to prevent violence against Iraq's Kurdish minority.

After the success of Desert Storm, France participated in the use of force against Iraq in 1993. The unofficial re-opening of diplomatic and economic relations between Paris and Baghdad in 1994 changed the position of France which then began to rebuild ties with its former partner. Despite a refusal to comply with UN resolutions by Baghdad, France adopted a policy that can be categorized as partial appeasement. France did not take part in the use of military power in 1996, when the US intervened after violence occurred in the Kurdish region.

Operation Desert Fox, in 1998, and the bombing of Baghdad by the US and the UK were criticized by the UN and France. These events eventually led France to withdraw from different military operations regarding Iraq and thus breaking away from the US-led coalition. This development marked the end of the frozen conflict between Paris and Baghdad and conferred France the status as an intermediary between its former enemy and its former allies from the coalition without having signed any peace treaty with Iraq. Thus, the conflict resolution process is characterized as conflict withering.

Sources

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