The government of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher used the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait as an "exceptional opportunity" to sell weapons in the Gulf, "The Guardian" writes.
Secret documents released by Britain's National Archives reveal how, on the eve of the outbreak of the Gulf War in 1990, ministers and civil servants rushed to ensure that British arms manufacturers could take advantage of the predicted increase in demand for military weapons, according to Tanjug.
As the "Guardian" reports, the documents include confidential reports by Alan Clarke, then minister in the department of procurement, defense and trade, sent by Margaret Thatcher, while he was touring the Gulf countries on the eve of the war.
In a letter marked "secret", written on August 19, 1990, days after Saddam Hussein's forces invaded Kuwait, Clark wrote a private report to Margaret Thatcher, in which he described the expected response from the US and its allies as a "unique opportunity". for the Defense Export Services Organization, writes the Guardian.
The latest annual reports from show that Great Britain won a contract worth six billion pounds last year, which is nine percent of the world market, and half of the total sales are intended for the Middle East.
For ten years, the report ranks Great Britain as the second largest arms dealer in the world, behind America, writes the Guardian.
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