Saddam’s Shields: The United States and Hostage-Taking During the First Gulf War

Advisors: Anders Stephanson (Columbia), Nigel Ashton (LSE)

Matthew’s dissertation, Saddam’s Shields: The United States and Hostage-Taking During the First Gulf War, focuses on the “human shields” crisis within the 1990-1991 Gulf Conflict. This crisis involved the placement of foreign internationals living in Iraq and Kuwait at strategic locations within both countries by the Iraqi Government. At the time, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein hoped that the placement of these hostages, or “guests” as he called them, would deter further action from the international coalition forming against him.

In particular, this dissertation focuses on the reactions of the Bush Administration to the “human shields” component of the Gulf Conflict. Ultimately, Matthew argues that while the “human shields” crisis was brief and over abruptly (it lasted from August to December 1990), it should not be forgotten in larger studies on the First Gulf War. While it is largely overlooked today, the use of hostages and “human shields” played greatly on the minds of President George H.W. Bush and others in the international community. In fact, this dissertation argues that in the Fall of 1990, the use of “human shields” had the potential to be the key factor that sparked an outbreak in hostilities between Iraq and the United States during the Gulf Conflict.

Saddam Hussein with five-year-old Stuart Lockwood, one of the hostages held as "human shields" by the dictator. Source: /Rex Features, on The Guardian: "That’s me in the picture: Stuart Lockwood with Saddam Hussein, 24 August 1990 Baghdad, Iraq" (5 Jun. 2015).