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Iraq once was a part of the Ottoman Empire. Saddam Hussein became "President" in 1979 and maintained power through ruthless purges. The country was also beset by internal strife. In the north the Kurds yearned for independence and in the south, the Shiites looked to Iran. The state and the army grew over time. Today, the military alone takes up 35 percent of every dollar earned. Saddam's expansion of the state's military apparatus was frightening to his …

…production beyond agreed upon levels. Iraq was forced to follow suit or lose even more revenues. To make matters worse, Iraq suspected the Kuwaiti's were drilling diagonally from their side of the border to tap Iraqi oil reserves. Thus Saddam Hussein was now in a precarious position. It was getting more and more difficult to maintain his military power. He seemed there was an expeditious solution to his problems, a solution involving a foreign adventure.