What about the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1990 due to theft of Iraqi oil through directional drilling? The difference? Realpolitik: Russia has the Bomb and Iraq didn’t.
Iraq didn’t ‘occupy’ Kuwait, they invaded and annexed it declaring it the 19th province of Iraq.
And the ‘stealing oil’ claim is BS. Kuwait has no rigs near Iraq’s Rumaila oil field and I’ve seen no evidence to date to support Saddam Hussein’s claim. Why would the Kuwaitis employ slant drilling 10 miles to reach Iraqi oil when their own fields are easily in reach and very rich? More like Iraq invaded Kuwait due to its inability to make payments on its $80B debt to Kuwait from the Iran - Iraq war.