ABSTRACT
During the postwar years, NATO members have frequently discussed the implications of regional conflict for European security. Yet not until 1980 were considerations for operations in the Third World-in this case, Southwest Asia-incorporated into NATO’s planning cycle.1 Alliance concern about security in areas outside Europe peaked in 1980, after the revolution in Iran, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the outbreak of the Persian Gulf war. The political turmoil in Southwest Asia sparked fears among NATO members of a rise in the price of oil, if not a cut-off of supplies to the West. Concern about a potential Soviet move into Iran created further pressure within NATO to address Gulf security issues.
