U.S. intelligence sources believe Hussein has at least a dozen doubles that stand in for him at public events. Saddam Hussein and his double only look bulky in public events because they wear body armor underneath and hats that are ordinary in appearance but are also bullet-proof (). He also exercises regularly to deter rumors of him being old and fragile. He has very tight controls over Iraq's media. They play a music video dedicated to Saddam Hussein every day. In Iraq, every time someone picks up the phone there would be an automated praise of Saddam Hussein. These actions would suggest his insecurity of his power and it would be expected especially with his many enemies within his country and outside of it such as the powerful United States. With his tight control over his government, one can easily say that Saddam is Iraq and visa versa.
Iraq invaded Kuwait because it accused them of lowering oil prices as a part of an "imperialist Zionist (Jewish) plan"; however, one can easily see that he need an economic boost after an eight year war with Iran. One can also easily see that with Kuwait conquered he will gain a substantial amount of wealth and power; in fact, he would gain 20% of the world's oil, immense wealth from Kuwait's Reserve Fund for the Future Generations worth over 100 billion plus interest, and Gulf ports that he desperately needs. Kuwait can be easily taken with Saddam's 100,000 troops against Kuwait's puny and under experienced force of 20,000 defenders (). With the Arab nations recognizing this threat they called upon Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to reach a peaceful agreement and they did so in favor of Iraq. Saddam Hussein then told the United States that it had no intent in invading Kuwait on July 24. .
He lied; on August 2 of 1990 the citizens of Kuwait woke up at the sounds of war at 2:00am. Kuwaitis were stunned at this act of terror because they had supported Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war; nonetheless, they marched relentlessly towards the capital.
