The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 695: Beat Kuwait?

Baghdad, Iraq!
The magnificent palace is where Saddam lived and worked, and is the core of power in Iraq.

At this time, Saddam was holding a meeting.

The Iran-Iraq War ended, and Iraq's weapons and equipment and military size reached an unprecedented level, with regular troops alone exceeding 120 million.

However, there is still a gap in weapons and equipment!

The ports of Abadan and Khomeini were blown up. In order to avoid the Persians' desperate efforts, an emergency evacuation was carried out and many weapons and equipment were directly abandoned.

In addition, they encountered interception and attacks by Persian guerrillas and regular troops on the way, resulting in some losses.

Therefore, the gap in weapons and equipment is still quite large.

Besides that, there is a lack of advanced equipment!

If he wants to defeat Kuwait and turn it into Iraq's 19th province, he must replenish his equipment and strengthen his military force.

That way, other forces will not interfere.

When he heard that Panshan Group agreed to deliver the goods, Sadam was overjoyed. He did not expect it to be so smooth. It was simply God’s help!

120辆80式主战坦克、200辆81式自行高炮、300辆81式中型坦克、500辆81式轻型坦克、500辆81式步兵战车、1000辆59式中型坦克.
These are huge orders worth more than 50 billion US dollars!

Although Saddam disliked the Type 59 medium tank, it was still a tank after all. It was normal to carry some smuggled goods when buying weapons. Panshan Group only carried some smuggled goods without any additional political and economic conditions, which made it a very conscientious arms dealer.

In addition, the large amount of purchased materials will be delivered and shipped very quickly, which makes Saddam in a good mood.

The Iran-Iraq War lasted for ten years. Although Iraq's oil exports were considerable, they were still affected. The exported oil dropped significantly compared to before the war. After all, the army also needed to consume a lot of fuel.

Iraq's oil exports were affected, but other oil-producing countries made a fortune by taking advantage of the rising oil prices, which made Saddam very unhappy.

Why should I do the work but not benefit from it myself?
What’s even more hateful is that they didn’t even offer to lend him a few hundred billion dollars.

"Damn it, just wait for me!" Saddam gritted his teeth in anger when he thought about the humiliation he had suffered during this period.

He intended Iraq to produce more oil and thus increase its revenue.

But internationally, it is not the case that a country can produce as much oil as it wants. If there is no consensus, every oil-producing country will desperately produce oil, resulting in an oversupply of oil in the international market, and the price will have to continue to fall.

This is something no one wants to see.

The Iraqi Ministry of Oil proposed to OPEC that Iraq be given more oil production quotas to increase national fiscal revenue. This would not only meet Iraq's funding needs for post-war reconstruction, but also show support for Iraq from Arab brothers.

But OPEC refused!

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in particular strongly oppose it, after all, it greatly affects their interests.

This made Saddam very angry.

The rest of the Arab world went too far. Iraq did the hard work, the dirty work, helped them resist the Persians, and even went to war with the Persians to maintain their oil prices, and they said they supported Iraq.

But in ten years, I haven’t seen them spend any money!

They say Iraq still has a lot of foreign exchange reserves, and when they run out of money they will definitely lend it to Iraq!
What a hell!
In the end, in the fight with the Persians, the only one who got hurt was yourself!
Since you don't help Iraq, Iraq will take it on its own. When Kuwait becomes Iraq's 19th province, Kuwait's oil will naturally be Iraq's oil, and Kuwait's oil quota will be Iraq's oil quota.

And by then, Iraq's voice in OPEC will be greatly increased, and its status and influence in the world will also increase significantly.

Saddam coordinated and thought that it was not easy to start a war. It was necessary to prepare supplies, weapons and ammunition.

Plus the troops also have to recover.

Since the troops were withdrawn back to the country, they have been recovering their forces.

Otherwise, the soldiers will be tired and won't be able to fight.

When Saddam thought about the attitude of the Americans not long ago, his heart was filled with confidence.

If the Americans do not object and still support us, then this operation will definitely be smooth and the benefits will be huge, which can immediately make up for Iraq’s losses in the Iran-Iraq War.

Iraq and Kuwait have always had territorial disputes, and Kuwait was originally a province of Iraq.

If Kuwait becomes a province of Iraq again, Iraq will be fully revived and even surpass what it was ten years ago. Its oil reserves will be greatly increased, the amount of oil that can be exported will increase significantly, and its annual oil revenue will double.

Moreover, Iraq's coastline will be greatly increased, and it will be possible to build a strong navy.

Iraq's coastline is only 60 kilometers long. Because of the large amount of sediment deposited by the two rivers, the coastline is constantly moving. The actual coastline of Iraq is less than 10 kilometers long! Kuwait is not large in area, but it has a 290-kilometer coastline.

If Kuwait were to become a province of Iraq again, Iraq's coastline would increase from 10 kilometers to 300 kilometers.

It can be said that the benefit is huge!

The temptation for Saddam was amazing!
Before fighting the Persians and starting the Iran-Iraq War, they originally thought that by taking advantage of Persia's isolation, internal and external troubles, they could bite off a piece of meat from Persia, or even destroy Persia. Not only could they expand their territory, but the Persian oil would also become Iraq's, and Iraq would become the overlord of the Gulf and even the boss of the entire Arab world in one fell swoop.

Unfortunately, the other side had too many people and a huge army, and the Persians were as fearless as crazy people.

After fighting for ten years, Iraq was exhausted and even Saddam himself was fed up. He felt that the Iran-Iraq War was like a bottomless pit. Almost all the annual oil revenues were invested in it, but there was no end in sight.

Ultimately, the Iran-Iraq War could only be ended through peace talks.

But Saddam was confident that he could defeat Kuwait. The entire Kuwait had a population of less than two million and a small territory. How could it resist the powerful army under his command?

The only thing that made Saddam feel a little troublesome was Saudi Arabia. After all, Saudi Arabia had a large land area and was a major oil-producing country. Its status in the Arab world was very special. If Saudi Arabia strongly opposed it or even sent troops to interfere, it would be a big trouble.

Saddam thought that he should wait until everything was almost ready and then take the initiative to communicate with the Saudi and Kuwaiti royal families, and at the same time find out the strength of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

If Kuwait still doesn't appreciate his kindness despite all his efforts, then don't blame Sa for being heartless and ruthless!
Thinking of this, a cold light flashed in Saddam's eyes, and the murderous aura was very obvious.

Kuwait, he must win!
No one can stop him!
(End of this chapter)