The Lowdown: A Short History of the First Gulf War

By Robert Johnson

Narrated by John Simpson

A concise history of Saddam’s road to ruin – the denouement of Iraq. The Lowdown: A Short History of the First Gulf War gives an explanation of the causes of the Gulf War in 1990-91 and how the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s shaped the political and diplomatic landscape that led to a confrontation between President Saddam Hussein of Iraq and a world coalition led by the United States.

At the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988, Iraq was in significant debt. Saddam coveted Kuwait’s vast oil revenues and considered using his vast and seasoned army to get them. He presumed that there would be little resistance to an invasion – a dreadful miscalculation. When Iraqi forces poured into Kuwait, much of the world united against them. The First Gulf War opened a new chapter in the region’s politics, bringing together the Arab states and the Western world.

Yet, ultimately, it was a war that convinced Saddam to continue his defiance of the West and to exercise even greater ruthlessness to stay in power - a situation which led to the Coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003.

After that 2003 onslaught, many speculated as to what had gone wrong in the first Gulf War. Why had Saddam been able to survive? What was it that drove him to continue to snub the world and pursue his objectives so aggressively? “The Lowdown: A Short History of the First Gulf War” considers these questions, examines the character and experiences of Saddam himself, revisiting the First Gulf War in light of more recent events.

©2010 Creative Content Ltd (P)2010 Creative Content Ltd

• Language: English
• Publisher: Creative Content
• Release date: Jul 30, 2010
• ISBN: 9781906790486

Robert Johnson

This story is one about a kid from Queens, a mixed-race kid who grew up in a housing project and faced the adversity of racial hatred from both sides of the racial spectrum. In the early years, his brother and he faced a gauntlet of racist whites who taunted and fought with them to and from school frequently. This changed when their parents bought a home on the other side of Queens where he experienced a hate from the black teens on a much more violent level. He was the victim of multiple assaults from middle school through high school, often due to his light skin. This all occurred in the streets, on public transportation and in school. These experiences as a young child through young adulthood, would unknowingly prepare him for a career in private security and law enforcement. Little did he know that his experiences as a child would cultivate a calling for him in law enforcement. It was an adventurous career starting as a night club bouncer then as a beat cop and ultimately a homicide detective. His understanding and empathy for people was vital to his survival and success, in the modern chaotic world of police/community interactions.