ABSTRACT
The Soviets view the United States as an inherently aggressive power, given the capitalist nature of its system. This perception was reinforced by American foreign policy in the Middle East-Gulf region. The Iranian Revolution represented a startling reversal of affairs, whereby Iran was transformed from an American "gendarme" into an implacable enemy of the American "Satan." The Camp David process and its high point far, the Egyptian-Israeli Treaty, eroded Soviet influence in the Middle East. The aspect of America's reaction to recent developments in the Gulf was to attempt to bring about an anti-Soviet "consensus of strategic concerns" among the states of the Middle East-Gulf region. The Soviet response to American activities in the Middle East-Gulf region was multi-faceted, involving the use of propaganda, diplomacy, economic and military measures, and the implied threat of subversion. As for the use of military power, the Soviet Union intensified somewhat its naval activities in the area, and increased arms transfers to the region.
