Why did Saddam think he had a chance in the first Gulf War?

warrior	He forgot about the tendency for the people of the other Islamic nations to look out for themselves

Kirkuk	The end of the Iraq/Iran war after 8 years in 1988, Iraq was virtually bankrupt with debts to Saudi Arabia and [Kuwait-$14 billion] Hussein wanted these to be wiped clean but Kuwait refused and also started slant drilling into the Rumalia oil field[IRAQ] in an attempt to obtain $2.4billion for their loans,Kuwait deliberately exceeded the OPEC quota thus driving down the price of oil which caused Iraq to lose $1 billion for EVERY $1 drop in a barrel of oil,ALL of this was seen as an act of aggression but the obvious reason for the invasion was Kuwait's large oil reserves with the Iraqi Government later justified by claiming that Kuwait was once a natural part of Iraq carved off by British imperialism,after signing the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913 the U.K. split Kuwait from the Ottoman territories and declaring it to be an' independent Sheikhdom UNDER British protectorate' This proved very lucrative as in 1938 the first oil discovery was made making Kuwait an extremely valuable asset to Britain and in 1941 on the very same day [June 22nd]as Germany invaded Russia the British took TOTAL control over Iraq and Kuwait,in fact both the Brits and the Russians invaded Iran in September of that year which is something left out of MOST history book's...

Doug B	He believed his own press. Also, he had a habit of executing anyone who disagreed with him. So, are you going to be the Iraqi General who is going to tell Saddam that you are completely outclassed? To be fair, if we had done what he expected the fight would have been tougher. Saddam and his military leaders were expecting an attack straight up into Kuwait coupled with landings by the USMC. They didn't think anyone could maneuver large forces through the empty deserts quickly and accurately. so 3rd Army's "left hook" caught them completely by surprise. Meanwhile, 2,000 Marines sat on ships and Saddam's forces in Kuwait surrendered to CNN crews. All warfare is deception.

mindworms	he underestimated acceptable losses of Allies. he was thinking that Allies won't engage in battle for Kuwait. he overestimated Allied losses during the possible invasion. most of all, he overestimated morale of his own men and size of Soviet backing. he did not count with the situation where other ARABS would fight him. he expected them to stay neutral at worst and allied to him at best, preventing US involvement in the area. meanwhile, arabs did not confirm his deluded selfportrait of new Saladin, uniting Arabs and fought at the side of Allies. Namely Jordan, Saudis.

chindit	Desperate men take desperate measures. Saddam defaulted on the loans he had from Kuwait for the Iran/Iraq war, that was his reason for invasion, no more Kuwait no more loan payments. He clearly thought his troops were seasoned enough to cope with a conventional war against the coalition forces after all they'd been at war for 8 years with Iran. Saddam thought he was a great Arab statesman and he was trying to reinforce his position as such. So you could possibly say he was deluded.

Mark B	He was mad. He thought the superior numbers of his conscripted army could beat the professional armies of the west. None of his 'advisers' dared to tell him anything other than what he already believed for fear of being executed. His senior military officers knew he could not win but could not say anything at the time.

New Labour Voter	I had the impression the Iraqi foreign minister had asked the US ambassador if the US had an issue with an Arab on Arab conflict and the answer was no. I guess the discussion was done in convoluted terms as the US thought Iran (again) rather than Kuwait. Lets be real it was a bit of a shock for Saddam when he had to defend his conquest from a UN force lead by the US. He was doomed from the start, so why do it?

Teachmepme	I do not believe deluded is the right word. Several things came together leading up to the August, 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Any or all of them probably led to the deceased leader's belief that he could operate with impunity. 1. Iraq had long laid claim to the territory (land) that is Kuwait. The Iraqi people believed--and some may still believe--they had a legal right to the land and resources it sits over. 2. At the time of the Iraqi invasion, Saddam had the world's 4th largest army (troop strength), a significant number of elite, well-trained forces, and substantial hardware. 3. Saddam was either given insufficient intelligence--or chose to believe what he wanted to about both American and coalition military strength and political conviction. The world rejected his action immediately and countries were quick to join America and her core allies in moving in to stop him. The former Iraqi president was intelligent and powerful. He was far from a fool--but he did wind up fooled.

Ed	Because a U.S. Diplomat told him that the U.S. was not interested in his involvement in the area, and as soon as he acted the president rallied the coalition to defeat him, that was the action that precluded "little" georgie bush's invasion of Iraq, he wanted to be a war prezident also.

timetravler	Inflated egos will get you into trouble every time. Look at what Obama's ego is doing to him.