WI: The Nayirah testimony was never made

On October 10th 1990, Nayirah al-Sabah (her last name was concealed during the testimony) made a false testimony before the US Congressional Human Rights Council in which she alleged that Iraqi soldiers had committed atrocities in their occupation of Kuwait, including removing babies from their incubators and leaving them on the floor to die.

According to the Sunday Times on January 13th 1991, a Dr. Ali Al-Huwail vouched for 92 deaths as a result of the 'atrocities'.

Of course, after the Gulf War, it was later discovered that Nayirah was the daughter of Saud Al-Sabah, the Kuwaiti ambassador to the US, that she had never been in Kuwait at the time of the alleged atrocities and that the whole testimony was organized as part of the Citizens for a Free Kuwait public relations campaign which was run by an American public relations firm named Hill & Knowlton for the Kuwaiti government.

But before this revelation, seven senators cited Nayirah's testimony in their speeches backing the use of force. President George HW Bush even repeated the story at least ten times in the following weeks. Her account of the atrocities helped to stir American opinion in favor of participation in the Gulf War.

But what if this testimony wasn't made? Would the Americans still initiate the Gulf War and liberate Kuwait?
 
I am fascinated by this little story as there is a very interesting connection to the Bush Sr. administration. The CEO of Hill and Knowlton at the time had earlier been Bush Sr's chief of staff when he was vice president!
 
They'd have found someone else.
The war was on from the moment of the invasion, it simply required a palatable justification for the public.
 
Top