Iran, Iraq, and the Legacies of War

by Potter, Lawrence G.; Sick, Gary G.

• ISBN13: 9781403964502
• ISBN10: 1403964505
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-11-13
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Iraq and Iran are the two most important states in the Gulf region, given their population size, military strength, and the potential threat they pose to other states in the region and the United States. This book enhances our understanding of the troubled relationship between Iran and Iraq, placing it in historical context, examining the rapid deterioration leading to the eight-year war that started in 1980 and the effects of that trauma, and exploring the ongoing issues that currently bedevil bilateral relations. The authors cover such central issues as how each side has sought to use opposition groups in the other state to weaken it, ethnic divisions, the role of outside states (especially the United States), and a fascinating account of how the war affected a generation of Iraqis and Iranians. The role of the U.S. in the region and how U.S. policy has affected the two states are also considered. This book provides a basis for understanding the background of a tumultuous relationship that is entering a new era.

Author Biography

Lawrence G. Potter is Deputy Director of Gulf/2000 and Adjunct Associate Professor of International Affairs at Columbia University.

Gary G. Sick is the Executive Director of Gulf/2000 and former Director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(10)
Lawrence G. Potter
Gary G. Sick
The Troubled Relationship: Iran and Iraq, 1930--80	11	(18)
Shaul Bakhash
Position, Function, and Symbol: The Shatt al-Arab Dispute in Perspective	29	(42)
Richard Schofield
Between Iraq and a Hard Place: The Kurdish Predicament	71	(30)
M.R. Izady
The Antinomies of Iran's War Generation	101	(20)
Farideh Farhi
The War Generation in Iraq: A Case of Failed Etatist Nationalism	121	(20)
Faleh A. Jabar
Iraqi Shi'i Politics	141	(10)
Laith Kubba
Outsiders as Enablers: Consequences and Lessons from International Silence on Iraq's Use of Chemical Weapons during the Iran-Iraq War	151	(16)
Joost R. Hiltermann
The Gulf States and the Iran-Iraq War: Pattern Shifts and Continuities	167	(26)
Gerd Nonneman
The U.S. Role: Helpful or Harmful?	193	(20)
Rosemary Hollis
Contributors	213	(4)
Index	217