Saddam Hussein “summoned [U.S.] Ambassador [April] Glaspie to see him at noon on Wednesday, July 25, 1990 (a week before the [Kuwait] invasion), which was highly irregular. Saddam, with [Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister] Tariq Aziz present, referred to the potential military threat the United States could launch. …Glaspie did not react to it. …Glaspie had no instruction on this point… Glaspie heard Saddam reiterate that he was pursuing negotiations and that he wanted good relations with the United States. She decided things were not critical and left Baghdad for her annual home leave. …None of Saddam’s advisors told him if Iraq invaded Kuwait, the United States would…deploy a half-million soldiers to the region to expel Iraq from Kuwait.”
– Charles Duelfer, Hide and Seek, Page 65