The Gulf, America, and the New World Order in the 1990s

The Gulf played a central role in shaping the post-Cold War order in the 1990s. American leaders sought to use the Gulf War and its aftermath not only to secure regional stability and energy flows, but to construct a rules-based international order grounded in international law and collective security. Yet these ambitions collided with regional realities. Gulf Arab states proved divided, ambivalent, and often unwilling to consistently support US initiatives, while Iraq exploited these fractures to undermine American strategy through repeated crises. Drawing on Iraqi sources alongside US and allied records, this chapter shows how the gap between American expectations and Gulf political dynamics eroded both regional security arrangements and broader post-Cold War aspirations, helping to set the stage for the eventual breakdown of containment and the path to the 2003 Iraq War.