Civilian - Correct. Hussein was our ally against Iran.
Pres. Bush Sr. engineered the Desert Storm war by assuring Hussein that we would maintain a hands off policy if Iraq invaded Kuwait for stealing Iragi oil by diagonal drilling along it's border.
See:
http://www.chss.montclair.edu/english/furr/glaspie.html
THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1990 19
Excerpts From Iraqi Document on Meeting with U.S. Envoy
Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 -- On July 25,President Saddam Hussein of Iraq summoned the United States Ambassador to Baghdad, April Glaspie, to his office in the last high-level contact between the two Governments before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on Aug. 2. Here are excerpts from a document described by Iraqi Government officials as a transcript of the meeting, which also included the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Tariq Aziz. A copy was provided to The New York Times by ABC News, which translated from the Arabic. The State Department has declined to comment on its accuracy............................