– ABC Radio News – Special Report – August 19, 1990 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
As the saber-rattling ratcheted up a few notches, the question over what was going to become of the 3,000+ foreign nationals living in Kuwait started to occupy the thoughts of those who had friends, families and loved ones now living in the pressure-cooker.
With the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, and the systematic dismantling of the Kuwaiti government – and with the “coalition of the willing” armed forces staging at the Kuwait border, ready to invade at any time – rumors the foreigners still living in and around Kuwait City would be used as Human Shields started getting many people nervous.
Amid calls from Saddam Hussein for Foreigners living in Kuwait to assemble at designated areas for transport to undisclosed locations, Britain urged its nationals to stay put and don’t go anywhere. Suddenly, the idea of America invading, liberating and kicking Iraq out of Kuwait didn’t seem that easy, or at least not without some potential downside.
Here is a special report from ABC Radio News for August 19, 1990, giving details, insights and scenarios to an anxious public. The airwaves would be filled with a lot of these worst-case scenarios in the coming days. The big buildup, 25 years ago.
