“Dual Containment” Policy in the Persian Gulf: The USA, Iran, and Iraq, 1991–2000 (Middle East Today)

The Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, and the US invasion and occupation of Iraq have dramatically altered the geopolitical landscape of the contemporary Middle East. The Arab Spring uprisings have complicated this picture. This series puts forward a critical body of first-rate scholarship that reflects the current political and social realities of the region, focusing on original research about contentious politics and social movements; political institutions; the role played by nongovernmental organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brotherhood; and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Other themes of interest include Iran and Turkey as emerging preeminent powers in the region, the former an "Islamic Republic" and the latter an emerging democracy currently governed by a party with Islamic roots; the Gulf monarchies, their petrol economies and regional ambitions; potential problems of nuclear proliferation in the region; and the challenges confronting the United States, Europe, and the United Nations in the greater Middle East. The focus of the series is on general topics such as social turmoil, war and revolution, international relations, occupation, radicalism, democracy, human rights, and Islam as a political force in the context of the modern Middle East. completed without the support of my family, especially my parents. Without their assistance and encouragement I could not have embarked on this project in the first place, let alone complete it. I also owe a great debt to Dr. Katerina Dalacoura, my supervisor at the London School of Economics (LSE), for advice and guidance that was great in both quantity and quality throughout my tenure there. In addition, the process of researching and writing would have been far less enjoyable and a far less fulfilling experience without my friends and colleagues at the LSE and elsewhere, including Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-15 US Foreign Policy in the Persian Gulf, 1945–91....Pages 17-34 The Balance of Power in the Persian Gulf, 1945–91....Pages 35-52 Dual Containment: Conception, Evolution, and Implementation....Pages 53-76 A Triumphant America and a Villainous Iran: Perception as an Intervening Variable....Pages 77-99 Two Voices: Domestic Structure as an Intervening Variable....Pages 101-121 “Mischiefs of Faction”: Interest Groups as an Intervening Variable....Pages 123-145 Conclusions and Intervening Variables Assessed....Pages 147-154 Back Matter....Pages 155-211 This book offers a concise account of US "dual containment" policy towards Iran and Iraq during the 1990s, an overlooked era between the tumult of the liberation of Kuwait and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In particular, it uses a theoretical framework derived from neoclassical realism to examine the impact of domestic US politics and interest groups on policymaking, as well as perceptions of threat derived from two decades of mutual hostility between the US and Iran. This Book Examines Us Policy Toward Iran And Iraq During The 1990s And The Impact Of Domestic Politics On The Us Approach To The Persian Gulf. It Offers A New Theoretical Perspective.