I recall a quote from I beleive a U.S. State Department official that was reported during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, but which has rarely been repeated since the first Gulf War began with Operation Desert Storm.
The gist of it was that an official U.S. representative basically told Saddam that inter-Arab conflicts were none of our business which Saddam mistook (purposefully or not) as a green light to go into Kuwait.
I thought her name was April something? But I could be way off. Anyone remember?, and hopefull provide links to someone reporting it. Or at least her fullname, and title?
Her comment was: "we have no opinion on Arab-Arab conflicts like your border disagreement with Kuwait "
Stanford Univ cite
Whether she was spectacularily ill-informed, commenting on things she should not have, or part of a plot to get the conflict moving is up to the reader.
Maybe one of you Dopers you can find the transcript or tape of the meeting itself. I can only find fragments.
It is true Gillipsie told Saddam:
But we have no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait.
But in the same session she also says
Frankly, we can see only that you have deployed massive troops in the south. Normally that would not be any of our business. But when this happens in the context of what you said on your national day, then when we read the details in the two letters of the Foreign Minister, then when we see the Iraqi point of view that the measures taken by the U.A.E. and Kuwait is, in the final analysis, parallel to military aggression against Iraq, then it would be reasonable for me to be concerned.