Actually, the history of Kuwait is quite complex, including being held by the Portugese at one point, and the British. It is not a long-term traditional ‘piece’ of Iraq. As you know, the history of that entire region is quite complex, with the formation of the Kingdom of Iraq first in 1932, and then the Republic of Iraq in 1958.
The bottom line is that at the time Hussein invaded Kuwait it was a rich and progressive independent Middle Eastern country, that also supplied a very significant portion of the worlds oil. Taking Kuwait would have also put Hussein in a position to threaten/challenge Saudi Arabia, and thus control even more of the world's oil. It was an aggressive move by an aggressor.
There were plenty of Western (and Russian/Soviet) mistakes in this region that contributed to the instability we have today, but to blame it on Bush because he may or may not have had something to do with an oil well in a region that has immense amounts of oil is giving him way too much credit for power and influence.
I stand by what I alluded to in my previous post - Obama’s policies have destabilized the region. I see Obama as an extreme ideologue without sufficient ethical boundaries, and untempered by pragmatism. The other side of that equation are those politicians who are purely non-visionary pragmatists looking for quick solutions and untempered by core principles. Both types are not in the US’ or the world's best interest.