Ever since its inception in 1980, Al Majalla has been a leading Arabic-language news magazine. As such, it has a rich archive to pull from that offers insights and perspectives on pivotal events in history.
On occasion, Al Majalla draws upon these journalistic gems to shed light on how the thinkers and writers of those times covered these events.
Today we are publishing a special report written by Matar Al-Ahmadi for Al Majalla in 1990.
In his article, he unveiled confidential discussions that unfolded during an emergency Kuwaiti cabinet session held two weeks before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990.
It revealed that the Kuwaiti government knew about the Iraqi military threat, but did not expect a full-scale invasion and, as such, did not have the necessary defensive preparations in place.
Iraq had accused Kuwait of "stealing" oil from the Rumaila oil field which straddles the border between the two countries and subsequently demanded $2.4bn in reparations from the Kuwaiti government.
After Kuwaiti officials rejected the demand in the cabinet session, tensions escalated prompting the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia to offer to mediate in the dispute.
Saddam turned down the offer, prompting Washington, under US President George HW Bush, to hint that it could support Kuwait against any Iraqi aggression.
There was widespread speculation that Iraq's heightened pressure on Kuwait was driven by its desire to manipulate the outcome of the OPEC conference held in Geneva on 27 July.
Iraq, according to these speculations, aimed to secure an increase in oil prices and enforce adherence to the established production quotas, which Kuwait and the UAE had previously deviated from.
This archived report meticulously chronicles what was discussed during the cabinet session, encapsulating the differing opinions expressed.
