The war that started all other wars

I was in Kuwait when Iraqi forces rolled in on August 2nd, 1990. The tanks drove in straight through the wide highways. Some thought these were Kuwaiti military drills. They opined it will be better if dummy houses were used to practice rather than shooting at real houses. People outside knew more about Saddam's intentions than the people inside Kuwait or Iraq. American ambassador to Iraq was questioned earlier about a potential attack before this happened. Forces were amassed at the border even before the meeting. But the headline in Kuwait times on that day said something to the effect that the meeting between Iraq and Kuwait had ended amicably with an agreement for further talk. No alarms were raised before the days leading up to the eventful day. In fact, the discussion was such a failure that Saddam decided to attack as soon the delegation returned to Baghdad. All of the royal family members and most of the rich Kuwaitis including the owner of Kuwait times had fled the country before Iraqis crossed the border. Expats do all the jobs for them anyway. Who can blame them if they expected the expats to defend their country too.

The account of their meeting is still sparse. But the reasons were well documented. Iraq got into serious financial trouble after the eight year war with Iran. Kuwait as well as Saudis had helped Iraq immensely financially. Saddam always claimed that the war was to protect Arab nations such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia from Persian forces, Iranian forces that is. The sheiks in Kuwait never displayed their disdain for the socialist ideas of Saddam. One of Saddam's demands was for Kuwait to pardon it's loan. It was around 15 billion dollars. Remember the amount, fifteen billion dollars. There were another two demands as well. There is a large oil field named Rumaila, one of the largest in the world. It spans across Iraq and Kuwait. Iraq drills from one end and Kuwait from the other. During the war Iraq was not able to operate its oil wells. But Kuwait was drilling even more to compensate for the supply disruption during the war. Moreover, Kuwait also benefited from the increased oil price those days. When the war ended, oil prices came down. So Kuwait increased its oil production. This pressured oil prices downward further. Every OPEC member had a quota. Kuwait was blamed for was pumpking more than it's quota. Saddam wanted a production cut in expectation of increasing the oil prices. He also wanted Kuwait to stop drilling from the Rumaila oil field. Arrogance is a proud trait of Kuwait culture and personal insult is an important part of Kuwaiti arabic. These were in full display during the tri-party discussions among Iraq, Kuwait and the host Saudi Arabia on August 1st.. They too played a role in Saddam’s decision.

The war that started all other wars

In late 70's Iran and Iraq were two of the fastest growing economies. The growth was mainly driven by oil export. Both these countries are also blessed by nature with fertile soil, rivers and rain, unlike the barren deserts of Saudi Arabia and oil rich middle east nations. Iraq under brutal Saddam and Iran under corrupt Shah had made very good progress on infrastructure, education and other social services. Islamist in Iran viewed modernisation as a threat to it's culture. They interpreted westernisation as exploitation of Islamic land by the western countries. In 1979 Shah was toppled in a coup under the leadership of Ayatollah khomeini. 

Iraq was under what is called an Arab socialist rule. Though Saddam was a Sunny, the country is majority Shia. It is the Shias in Iran who toppled shah. Naturally, Saddam started to worry. Iran also had a history of electing a socialist leader to power. It was this faction Saddam was counting on when he decided to intrude into Iran. He did not want to waste time since he knew the things you want to do tomorrow, do it today. The pretext was the ownership of Shatt Al Arab which divides Iran and Iraq. Shatt Al Arab is a river which divides Iraq and Iran. It provides a perfect natural border. Linguists and historians are still studying about the demand to divide a border. What Saddam expected was a quick victory, removal of islamist from power and replacing it with a socialist government. In a country which is in disarray after a revolution, that shouldn’t be hard. But that went on for 8 long years. It bankrupted both the countries. Both countries were also successful in destroying each other's oil wells. The West was successful in their games too. They made sure that Iran would lose and Iraq wouldn’t win. So they supplied arms to both the sides. They always believed in balance! Indians in general supported Saddam because of his bollywood hero like looks and Amin Sahni like sound. 

Kuwait Invasion

When Iraq invaded Kuwait it did not have any meaningful defence. Iraqis just rolled in through the highways. America was fearful of the supply disruption of oil and also a potential invasion of Saudi Arabia. It was really remarkable how President George Bush formed and led a coalition to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait. It was the grand display of modern warfare. Americans and british also got rid of their old and unused bombs. While retreating Iraq forces set fire to most of the Kuwaiti oil wells. The light from these burning wells saved them from dangerous reptiles and desert snakes. But they were carbonated by the intense heat of the allied bombs before reaching home. Most people feared the fire would burn the whole region down and reduce it to ashes. There came Red Adair. How they capped each and every burning well is the biggest astonishment for me. I was back in Kuwait in 1992 when they capped the last well.

Aftermath

The Kuwait invasion was the result of the Iran-Iraq war, Gulf war was the result of the Kuwaiti invasion. Gulf war allowed western forces to occupy the holy land of Saudi Arabia. This was said to be the reason for Osama bin laden’s ire with the West. This led to Afghanistan and 911 which led to the Iraqi invasion. Iraqi invasion resulted in the rise of ISIS which had given rise to Syrian crisis. I can't even imagine what is in store for the future. Rememeber the 15 billion dollars? The country of Iraq is in ruin, insurance cost of 911 alone is ten times that amount. The cost of Iraq war was more than a trillion dollars, Afghan war another couple of trillion and many more trillions to follow in Syria and elsewhere. 

Parallels

I see parallels. India and China are the fastest growing economies in the world. There is a lot of chest thumping on both sides. China relies on its newly acquired economic and military might. India counts on its newly found friendship with America and the West. And they have started skirmishes on barren waste land glaciers, much like Iran and Iraq. Any escalation will have serious consequences for both countries and will be more devastating than the middle eastern wars. Both countries have to feed a billion mouths each. Western powers will only be happy to sell their arms to both countries as they did during the Iran Iraq war. But how can you expect the Indians and chinese to learn from the history of the Middle east?

Hystory rhymes

These covid days rhyme with those days. Days of loneliness, fear and unpleasant thoughts,  thoughts of mortality and unfulfilled dreams, dreams about pain and fatality. It was thirty years ago. 

On August 2nd 1990 morning, I was waiting for the trainer driver, who is supposed to pick me up at 6 am. It was an unusually hot summer. After early morning hours it gets really hot, at times it crosses 50 degree centigrade. While getting out of my apartment, I glanced at the headline of the Kuwait times which was dropped at the door. It had some news about an amicable settlement between Kuwait and Iraq. Past 7:05, 7:10 the trainer did not turn up. Then I heard my home phone ringing. There was a student of mine who calls at odd hours. I wanted to pick it up but I did not want to miss the trainer. So ignored the call. Then a weird thing happened. I saw a couple of low flying aircrafts. I also felt what sounded like thunder. I hadn't experienced any rain in Kuwait and there was no cloud in the sky. Then the phone started ringing  again. I ran inside and picked up the phone. It was one of my friends who broke the news. Iraqi forces have captured Kuwait. Then it struck me. The thunder I heard was of the bombs.

It was difficult to live without a driving licence in Kuwait. And it was more difficult to get a driving licence. So I was very happy when I received my learners licence. I couldn't wait to get my licence. However, to obtain a licence you need to go through a mandatory training. So I eagerly signed up for such a session. I had a few sessions earlier and few more left before the driving test. That day i was waiting for such a driving session. 

I was working in Jabia indian school. The school vacation had started in Mid June. Most of my colleagues had left for India for their vacation. I had a terrible performance review and almost lost my school job. But I had an offer for a programmer job from a big private firm. The plan was to get the visa in my hand, fly with the Visa and enjoy the vacation and come back and start the new job. My sister's marriage was also planned. I had to attend that too. Instead I got stuck in Kuwait. 

I was living in Jabria near the Indian School to avoid the hassles of commuting. It wasn't a usual residential area preferred by indians.  With the new job and a driver's license in hand I was also thinking about a more convenient place. The place was full of consulates and embassies. Whenever I go for a walk I always see some security guards standing in front of the houses. Some even had started saying 'marhaba', hello in arabic. I thought this must be one of the safest places on earth I used to think. I also used to joke that I have the protection of american and italian forces.

Jabria was also special in another way. Whenever I visit a new place I try to get the map and information on important places. Before flying to Kuwait I had bought a book. It's cover had a conical water tower. That was in Jabria right across from the highway where I lived. It was next to the Bayan palace, a huge complex which also hosted a convention center. This highway was named something else but now it says Sultan Al Nahyan Highway.

The peace, safety and everything else changed that day. Throughout the day, there were noises of low flying aircrafts and distant booms of explosions. Still generally it was calm. All that changed towards noon and the afternoon. A number of tanks rolled through the highway, turned to the palace and started shelling. There were also occasional exploitations which shook the whole building. It wasn't a very tall building. Four or five floors. I was on the ground floor. There were four or five buildings in the complex. I actually did not know anyone there. I never tried to socialize. There were a few indian families. They all probably knew me since I taught in the school where their kids are studying and I knew none. 

When the sound increased and buildings started shivering, people in the higher floors came down. We thought it would be safer on the ground floor, so those on the higher floor moved to the ground floor apartments. I got a company of three. One who lived just above and the other was a couple on the fourth floor. We expected the fighting to get worse at night. But it looked like Iraqi soldiers pacified the resistance quickly. We all could have slept but no one did.  

From that day, I began to socialize. The next day or is it the same day, the whole malayali group went to the nearby Jamaiya ( community grocery store) nearby. Gas is always essential. First we filled petrol. There was news about long lines in the petrol station. But we did not experience any major problem. But by the time we reached the store, the store shelves were all empty. But some smart ones in the group got a ton of bread. All I could find was some soup packets and a packet of frozen shrimp. Then we stood in the queue for cooking gas. What began as queues quickly descended into chaos with people trying to get ahead and others trying to prevent. Again some smart ones got gas cylinders which ran out quickly. Before I reached the counter, I could hear people shouting ‘khalaas’, finished that is.

I don't know exactly when, but I attended a community meeting which took place in the Indian School. It was attended by mostly the business leaders and some embassy representatives. The group organized essentials for those in the labour camps, We opened a counter to prepare travel documents for those who did not have a passport. I signed many of those documents. Couple of them were prisoners released from Kuwaiti prison by the Iraqi soldiers. Later, when the evacuation started, parents started asking for the transfer certificate. I signed many of those too. So I acted as the school principal and Indian foreign service official in the same month!

Indian embassy did not have a database of Indians in Kuwait. So we started a registration process in the salmiya Indian School. Someone picked me up every day and someone else dropped me back at night. I don't think I had lunch and of those days. I created a database entry screen. Those were on the school computers without any hard disk. So I took my personal personal computer to aggregate all the records. This computer itself has a story to tell which is later. The data was used to pick a convoy of  2000 persons 40 persons each in 50 buses. How to give preference to those in the labour camps, how to group family members together, these were my problems those days.

I became very social those days. That was a big personal change. I saw some becoming very selfish, some very fearful and some others very generous. One of the incidents was when an Iraqi soldier came for inspection. First time when someone showed up fully armed I was fearful too. But when he realized that I was ‘hindi’, he became relaxed which made me very relaxed. He also accepted my offer for a cola.  Others around did not have to have the surprise. I called everyone and told them that the inspection is on. 

These inspections became a routine. They were in search of Kuwaiti’s resistance fighters. Generally these soldiers were disciplined and well behaved. But there were also horror stories and rumors of torture spreading fast. It was weeks later, I was in my neighbor’s house when a couple of soldiers showed up for inspection. One stood outside, another entered the house. He asked ‘what's your name’ in almost perfect english. My neighbor who was shivering with fear muttered something like 'ana Kuwaiti' in arabic which meant I am a Kuwaiti. He was actually a pakka achayan from Thiruvalla . I didn't know why he said that. Sometimes while writing I omit the most important ‘NOT’ in the sentence. Is it a case like that? Even when Kuwiatis try to hide their identity, that is the worst an Iraqui soldier wants to hear. They become very suspicious. They checked everywhere and checked everyone's passport and license. I had my wallet and ‘wataka’ with me fortunately.

Another similar incident happened on the road. There was a check post on the highway. Just two lines were open in each direction.  Everyone slows down, some are checked more thoroughly than others but most were waved off, probably Indians. My friend who was driving got ready with all the documents. He was a bit agitated I could realize. The car rolled slowly. As soon as he reached the post instead of stopping the car, it's tires screeched and the car launched forward. We could hear shots on the back. I am still not sure whether he aimed at us and missed or they were warning shots in the air. My friend realized the mistake and pressed the brakes hard. We had to go through a thorough inspection. My friend was trying hard to convince everyone including me that there is no intention to run away and he pressed the accelerator by accident instead of the brake. Actually I was sheltered at his place and we left for India together.

Things were looking bleak. World was preparing for a bigger war. Shortage of food and essentials were becoming imminent. Uncertainty abound. One of those days IK Gujral came to negotiate the evacuation. When the evacuation started, we didn’t even know how safe it was. In between Onam came and we all gathered to celebrate. There were people who thought it was safer to stay, some were ashamed to go back as refugees and one joked about joining the iraqi security forces to  scare his terrible kuwait boss.

 

Finally when we decided to leave, I went to see sunny Mathews who was the man behind organising the evacuation. He did try to discourage me by saying 'if youngsters like you leave, how will the things work for everyone'. I felt bad but left anyway. A bus with forty two of us in a convoy of fifty buses drove to Amman. We stayed in the refugee camp for a few days. There was a severe dust storm one day. And finally an aeroflot flight flew us to  Mumbai on October 2nd.

The bend in the river

'The bend in the river' is a book I wanted to read for a long but never did. Finally I made it. It is the story of Salim, another colonial citizen with roots in India but uprooted to Africa. It is the story of immigration in which people don't belong to the place they are born or to any other place including  those from where their ancestors came from. It depicts the gradual rise and sudden fall of Salim and other successful immigrants like him who lose everything during the civil war in an African country most probably Congo. I did experience a bit of it first hand during the Kuwait war. This is not a book review but some of the thoughts which went through my mind while reading it.

Congo is a county which suffered terribly in the hands of it's colonial master Belgium. It also suffered caught between the cold war between USSR and the US. A potential savior of Africa, Patrice Lumumba was sacrificed in that fight.

Patrice Lumumba was one of those heroes from the tragic socialist stories in which most often CIA is the villain. He hasn't reached the same folklore status as Che Guevara. In fact, Che might have gone to Congo to avenge Lumumba's killing. In the end he himself met with the same fate. It is not clear whether the old colonial power of Belgium or CIA was behind his killing. Lumumba still has sympathisers around the world.

When I started reading VS naipaul's novel, 'The bend in the river' set in seventies Congo, I was expecting sympathetic words towards Congolese people and it's leaders. None of it. In fact, it's protagonist blame everything on African culture and conveniently forgets cruelty of it's colonial Masters and fail to mention any of the Western conspiracies to exploit the regions abundant wealth. It sounded very unfair.

Strangely, Democratic republic of Congo still remain one of the poorest countries on Earth despite being blessed with abundant natural resources. It has water, weather, fertile soil, minerals, precious metals and one of the hot commodity nowadays, Cobalt! Cobalt together with lithium are two commodities the speculators in the financial markets busy betting due to the increasing popularity of electric automobiles. Cobalt and lithium are used to essential components in electrical batteries. But I doubt whether the people in Congo will benefit from it.

Natural resources alone cannot make a county or it's people rich. When various ethnic groups and tribes fight each other, when there is no peace there can be no progress. In that respect India has done well. Despite divisions based on caste and religion it has done well after it's Independence. One reason may be that there are no more natural resources to be exploited profitably. In the effort to exploit resources countries and corporation still play games to divide and conquer. It goes on even today in the middle East and Latin America. The latest being Venezuela. It is not difficult to create rift among the population in certain places it seems. There are no tribes fighting each other, there are no caste divisions but still how easy it is to form militias and hire mercenaries in Latin America.

Trust among it's people may be the greatest strength and asset of a country. Breaking that trust is the most lethal weapon.

https://youtu.be/FDxSWf4LCYY

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrice_Lumumba

Let's have peace - Ulysses S. Grant

Let's have peace

I didn't have a plan to read a biography, let alone that of Ulysses Grant. While watching NPR news, I hear about black life matters protesters toppling Ulysses S Grant's statue on Juneteenth in San Francisco. Someone was arguing that president Grant doesn't deserve such a treatment having done so much for the African American community and being instrumental in freeing southern slaves. At the same time I noticed a thick book behind Judy Woodruff with his name and picture. What a coincidence I thought. Later that day I also noticed the same book in the book shelf behind David Westin, one of the Bloomberg anchors. When I googled I saw the statue in golden gate park in San Francisco, which I vaguely remember. It also lead me to the biography written by Ron Chernow, the books behind NPR and Bloomberg anchors. That is when I decided to read it. The July 4th long weekend was around the corner. What a better way to spend an independence day.  It turned out to be an excellent read, a story with a lot of twists and turns, as dramatic as any well written novel, more fights than any western movie due to civil war and a lot of parallel to the current political situation relating to race relations. 

Born to a poor tanner in Ohio, Grant did not show any exceptional ability except in riding horses. He didn't want a military career but ended up in West Point due to his father's insistence. He was a mediocre student at West Point, quit a promising army career in the midst, fell into alcoholism, tried and failed at business ventures before becoming the general who saved the union during the civil war. He was not interested in seeking positions but high ranking responsibilities came seeking him. He was not interested in political offices but was forced into presidential candidacy, didn't bother to run a campaign but still won the presidency. ‘Let us have peace’ was his campaign slogan. He was also linked to a few robber barons and financial speculation. He led what seemed like a highly successful Wall Street firm only to be swindled by a con artist in a Ponzi scheme which bankrupted him and his whole family. To escape financial hardships agreed to write a memoir and ended up writing one of the best-selling books of the time. What a life to experience!

War and reconciliation

I didn't understand why Patrice Lumumba wept to Cotton God or grasp the meaning of the phrase King Cotton until recently. Before the civil war Cotton was the highest US export accounting for more than 60 percent of the total. Southern Cotton states were getting richer by the money flowing in from Britain and France. The competitive advantage in Cotton production mainly came from the free labor in the form of slavery, the other being free soil. When in 1860s northern states started freeing slaves and giving compensation to the slave owners, southern states had started worry. Cotton was their only economic production and slavery was the major part of the mode of production. When Lincoln was elected as the president with less than 40 percent of the vote, even though the parties sympathetic to southern cause, southern and northern democratic parties together got more votes than Republican candidate, Lincoln. So in the name of state’s rights southern states decided to secede. The real reason was economic, power and the fear of freeing slaves. Thus started the American civil war.

In the beginning, Confederate states won a few battles and occupied many union forts and the Confederate army under Robert E Lee was threatening the Union capital. Union states were barely holding up in the eastern front, but in the west, under general Grant, union army was winning a series of battles in Shiloh and Vicksburg and more. In addition to being a fearless army leader, Grant was also providing moral and strategic leadership by providing jobs to blacks and enrolling escaped black slaves from the south in the union army. He had turned the tide in the western front and had divided the Confederate state into two by capturing all the major ports and forts including Vicksburg along the Mississippi River. 

He was brought to the eastern board by Lincoln as the chief general to do the same magic because of the indecisive generals in the west who could not make progress against the confederate army. Grant did not disappoint. We won brutal battles against the southern army and won the war and thus saved the Union. During this period he earned the nick name ‘butcher’ for conducting bloody battles and willingness to sacrifice his own men for victory. At the end of the war, how this tough general negotiated surrender from Lee and earned the respect and won trust through his leniency towards the enemy army he defeated and how it helped establish peace and reconciliation is remarkable.

Financial speculation and cornering gold market

Grant's presidency was also marked by the beginning of industrialization and gilded age. There were also connection to robber barons and financial speculation. When Jay Gould and Robert Fritz cornered the gold market Grant was the US president. They almost convinced president Grant of the benefits of higher gold prices. When Grant instructed his treasury secretary to stop the release of gold, gold prices shot up. The theory was, higher gold prices will lower the commodity prices and make American agricultural products more competitive in the international market. Being rail road company owners and investors Gould and Fitz will profit from the increased rail fright as well as increasing gold price. When Grant realized the scheme he started the release of gold from the treasury. Gold prices plummeted, stock market went down 20 percent, brokerage houses were bankrupted.

Abolition of slavery and rights of freedmen

Grant provided protection and jobs to the slaves escaped from the south. He also recruited them to army. This inflicted a major blow to the Confederacy militarily and morally. In fact, Lincoln's emancipation proclamation did not free a single slave. The states he had control had no slaves, in the states where there are slaves he had no control. It was the protection and jobs provided by the army which gave them freedom. There were close to two hundred thousand former slaves fought with the union forces. Grant also lead the reconstruction effort. He was instrumental in enacting civil right laws and civil services to select government employees based on merit and funding for the education of the freedmen. This civil service structure was dismantled in the 70’s. We probably would have a coordinated approach to Covid and such emergencies if such a system is still in place.  

Parallel to current political climate

More than fifty percent of the population in Mississippi and South Carolina were blacks. Democracy and majority rules meant that old slaves will become law makers in these states. That was the beginning of KKK. Southern states also did not want to fund the public education. They also invented ways for making voting difficult for the blacks. They unleashed a brutal campaign against the newly freedmen. Grant's presidency was thus marred with brutal lynching of many blacks and the beginning of KKK. When state's security forces collaborated with KKK in attacking blacks, Grant send federal forces to provide protection. Many civil rights laws were implemented by Grant. But still many blacks migrated to northern cities fearing for their lives. Sounds familiar? If you still see these issues today, they are the remnants and unfinished business of those days.

Successful military leader but failed political leadership

Leadership is different in different environments. In military it is quick decision and decisiveness. Ability to keep secrets can decide victory and defeat. In politics, it is different. Secretiveness doesn't work in politics. One has to be flexible to consensus and to achieve desirable results. Loyalty is of paramount importance in military but in politics it can be viewed as nepotism. The qualities which helped Grant to become a successful general failed him in politics. By some account he is considered as one of the worst US presidents. His administration was rife with nepotism and scandals. There were also an effort to portray him as a drunkard, a narrative pushed by the bitter southern polititians. They also try to paint the war's purpose was 'state's rights' rather than slavery.  Grant was the president of the United States during is most tumultuous period. His achievements in civil rights and organizing civil services outweigh any of his short comings.

Victim of a Ponzi scheme

After the presidency, Grant tied up with Ferdinand Ward in setting up a banking and brokerage house. Ward was running a Ponzi scheme. Unsuspecting Grant fell for his trick and invested all his money into the venture. He also encouraged his family members to invest. When the Ponzi scheme blew up, he lost all his money and fell to serious financial hardship and was forced to move to a cottage. Because he quit his first military job and left the second to become the president he was not entitled for the military pension. This was reinstated later.

Successful writer

To escape from financial hardships he agreed to write a memoir about his battles. Unfortunately he became ill with cancer shortly. The fighter in him finished the book in an year in anyway and it became a best seller even though he didn't have any literary credentials to boast off. Everyone need to be reminded of his fights and achievements more often.

It is that book on my list next.