And Saddam did actually ask the US for the go-ahead before he invaded Kuwait, as he appears to have done for his earlier aggression against Iran. Or he thought he had.

However the reported reassurance to him by April Glaspie, the
US ambassador to Iraq, to the effect that the US "has no opinion on the Arab-Arab conflicts, like your border disagreement with Kuwait", turned out not to match with how Washington decided to play it.

That's the problem with being a tolerated thug, working for respected gentry. Sometimes they decide you're a liability, and they take out a contract on you. Mafia Dons or World Leaders, it's basically the same game.

This Encyclopedia site brings together a lot of stuff about the whole background, and doesn't actually appear to be politically loaded.