Bowen: Trump has called for an Iran uprising but the lessons from Iraq in 1991 loom large

Bowen: Trump’s Call for an Iran Uprising Echoes the 1991 Iraq Lessons

The author recalls a pivotal moment in history when a U.S. president encouraged a revolution and later failed to back it. This memory resurfaces as Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu urge the Iranian populace to rise against their government, without guaranteeing military aid. In 1991, President George H.W. Bush addressed the public in a Massachusetts factory where Patriot missiles were being assembled, marking their debut in the Gulf War. These weapons, designed to intercept incoming missiles, are still crucial in Ukraine and the current conflict with Iran.

At the time, the Gulf War’s Desert Storm operation was in full swing, with coalition forces launching a relentless aerial campaign against Iraq and its cities. While the ground war loomed just nine days away, the author was in Baghdad, documenting the war’s progression. Days prior, an airstrike in Amiriyah had killed over 400 civilians, including many women, children, and elderly individuals. The U.S. and UK claimed it was a command center, but the author witnessed the devastation firsthand, recognizing the truth in the smoldering remains of the shelter.

A Speech That Shaped History

Back then, the author overlooked the significance of Bush’s address. However, 35 years later, the echoes of that speech are clear whenever Trump and Netanyahu speak of Iran. Bush’s visit to the Patriot factory was part of a broader effort to rally support for the war. In a brief but impactful statement, he urged Saddam Hussein to comply with UN resolutions to withdraw from Kuwait. The president then proposed an alternative: “There’s another way for the bloodshed to stop…and that is for the Iraqi military and the Iraqi people to take matters into their own hands and force Saddam Hussein, the dictator, to step aside.”

The workers cheered, and Bush returned to mobilizing Americans for their first major conflict since Vietnam. Yet, some Iraqis took his words seriously. After the Iraqi army was driven out of Kuwait, a ceasefire allowed Hussein to retain power. This led to uprisings in the Kurdish north and Shia regions of the south. Despite the initial hope, the U.S. and its allies did not intervene, leaving the regime to retaliate with a brutal counteroffensive. Thousands of Kurds and Shia Muslims were killed, believing the U.S. would support their rebellion. Their assumption proved costly.

Legacy of the First Gulf War

The aftermath of the 1991 war extended far beyond the battlefield. A no-fly zone was established to protect civilians, and American military bases were permanently stationed in Saudi Arabia. It was during this period that young Osama bin Laden, enraged by foreign troops near Islam’s holiest shrines, began organizing Al Qaeda. The author, stationed in the Kurdish mountains, documented the suffering as families brought the bodies of their children, victims of cold exposure and dysentery. Only later did the coalition launch a humanitarian mission to rescue the Kurds, while Shias in the south faced a more brutal fate.

Decades later, the third Gulf War aims to dismantle Iran’s growing influence. This effort follows the 2003 ousting of Saddam Hussein, which Iran benefited from. Now, the U.S. and Israel target Iran’s military and nuclear ambitions, with Trump’s recent alliance signaling a new phase in this ongoing struggle. The cycle repeats: each war sows the seeds for the next, as the lessons of the past are both remembered and repeated.