Treated as an independent nation by whom, FL? Certainly not by the Ottomans, nor by the British, who right up until WW1 agreed with the Turks that the sheikhs were mere regional sub-governors of part of Basra vilayet. The sheikhs claimed to be independent for centuries, but their lands were in fact part of the Ottoman Empire, even after the British arrived in 1899, and were claimed by the Ottoman Empire right up until the end. A nation can claim independence all it likes, but until the "mother" country is defeated and/or agrees to the demands of independence, it doesn't mean shit.

Take Kosova, for instance. While it is administered by the UN, it is legally part of Serbia right now. Most of the planet recognises this. As I'm sure you know, the Albanians there claim independence from Serbia. But Serbia is unlikely to drop its claims, ever, and if the UN pulls out, they will pour in. So for the forseeable future, Kosova will only be as independent as the UN allows.

Similarly, under the Ottomans, tiny Kuwait was in no position to declare true independence. Under the British after 1899, they weren't allowed to, either. The British forces kept the Turks and later the Iraqis from invading, but kept the status of Kuwait in limbo as a protectorate until 1961. It's been a long time since 1899, and this dispute is still unresolved in the minds of many Iraqis.

That's all I said, and that's accurate. I'm not arguing that Iraq has a rightful claim to Kuwait, but that it percieves that it does.

---Lepus Rex