Exhibit goes behind the scenes of Gulf War

Exhibit
goes behind the scenes of Gulf War
…………………………………………………………………

BY B.J. ALMOND
Rice News Staff

Mementos from
former secretary of state James A. Baker III’s personal
collection are featured in an exhibit titled “Building
the Gulf War Coalition” at James A. Baker III Hall.

The display,
created by Rice’s James A. Baker III Institute for
Public Policy, includes Baker’s handwritten notes from
phone conversations with various leaders, a selection of
talking points, photos, documents, transcripts of speeches
and other historical souvenirs. The collection enables the
viewer to step back in time and appreciate the scope of
the challenge that Baker faced in building international
support against Saddam Hussein’s act of aggression
in 1990.

Perhaps the
most significant step in building this international coalition
was the joint statement Baker issued with Soviet Foreign
Minister Eduard Shevardnadze condemning the invasion of
Kuwait. This led to a climate of unprecedented cooperation
between the Soviet Union and the United States and also
to an extraordinary friendship between the two statesmen.
Some of Baker’s notes from his meetings and phone calls
with Shevardnadze are displayed in the exhibit.

As secretary
of state, Baker traveled more than 700,000 miles, many of
which were related to his effort to establish an international
coalition against Iraq. He met repeatedly with leaders of
each of the 15 member nations of the U.N. Security Council.

“The debate
we are about to begin will rank as one of the most important
in the history of the United Nations,” Baker told members
of the U.N. Security Council, as quoted in the exhibit.
“We must fulfill our common vision of a peaceful and
just post-Cold War world. But if we are to do so, we must
meet the threat to international peace created by Saddam
Hussein’s aggression.”

Baker’s
efforts paid off while he presided over the council. On
Nov. 29, 1990, the U.N. Security Council passed for the
first time ever a resolution authorizing the use of force
to restore international peace and security if Iraq did
not withdraw from Kuwait unconditionally. The text of the
official U.N. resolution, No. 678, is included in the exhibit.

“Building
the Gulf War Coalition” will be on display until the
current school year ends in May and can be viewed between
7 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays only.