Persian Gulf Tour

President Bush was in Kuwait this weekend, meeting with local sheikhs and with U.S. military commanders. He then traveled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), en route to Saudi Arabia. It's all part of a journey through the Middle East that began in Israel and winds up in Egypt this week.

Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt will surely make more headlines. But we decided it was time to put Kuwait and the UAE on your mental map, too. After all, both Persian Gulf states are important U.S. allies--not to mention oil suppliers.

Tomorrow, we'll do Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and the other united emirates. But today, let's pay a visit to Kuwait's sheikhs--specifically, the sheikhs from the Al Sabah family who have dominated Kuwaiti politics for 250 years. How did they come to rule one of the world's richest little nations? Here's the sheikhs' story in three simple steps.

Step 1: Make a Home by the Bay

Squeezed between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Kuwait is basically a slice of tropical desert. Summertime highs frequently exceed 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius), but the location does have its advantages. First, there's the oil--around 100 billion barrels of it, in a country that's smaller than New Jersey. Then there's Kuwait Bay, one of the best natural harbors on the Persian Gulf's west coast.

In the early 18th century, a group of families migrated from central Arabia to the Kuwait Bay area and founded what's now Kuwait City. In 1756, one of those families--the Al Sabah--emerged as the settlement's rulers. Of course, no one was after oil in those days. During the 19th century, many Kuwaitis made their money by diving for pearls.

Step 2: Use Protection

The Al Sabah sheikhs maintained a modicum of autonomy by staying on good terms with the regional superpower, the Ottoman Turks. One Al Sabah sheikh even took an Ottoman title. But by 1899, those Turkish ties had gotten too tight for Sheikh Mubarak, a.k.a. "Mubarak the Great."

Under threat from Ottoman forces, Mubarak signed a deal that made Kuwait a protectorate of the British Empire instead. The Al Sabah basically retained their domestic power but ceded control over Kuwait's foreign policy to London. Kuwait would remain a British protectorate until 1961.

Step 3: Hit the Black Gold Mother Lode

It might have remained a rather poor protectorate, too, if not for all that oil. The Kuwait Oil Company--then co-owned by U.S. and British interests--discovered large reserves in 1938, but couldn't exploit them until after World War II.

When the bubbling crude began to flow in earnest, so did the petrodollars, transforming Kuwait City into a modern metropolis, complete with skyscrapers and immigrant workers (who now outnumber Kuwaiti citizens). Before long, Kuwait had one of the world's highest per capita income levels.

In 1961, the British protectorate ended and Kuwait became fully independent. A few days later, Iraq renewed an old claim that it owned Kuwait, but backed down in the face of British, Arab, and Kuwaiti resistance. Kuwait got its first constitution in 1962 and a parliament in 1963, but Al Sabah sheikhs have continued to dominate the political scene--except during 1990-91, when Iraqi forces occupied Kuwait until U.S.-led forces drove them out and restored the sheikhs to power.

Tomorrow: More Persian Gulf Cruising

Tune in again tomorrow, when we'll cruise down the Persian Gulf coast and explore the United Arab Emirates.