ABSTRACT
Prior to Desert Storm and Desert Shield, it had become fashionable in some intellectual and political circles, as well as in the media, to predict the receding importance of military power, and its replacement by economic power in the hierarchy of global policy instruments. Economic instruments of power—including capital, technology, goods and services—are intimately linked with those of military power. And the linkages are often complex, subtle, and significant. Economic power often complements military power, rather than substituting for it, although there are also instances where each can substitute for the other. In the specific case of the Gulf War, economic power was a vital adjunct of military power. In the war's murky aftermath, the interplay between economic and military instruments is also crucial. Constructing, protecting, and supplying enclaves for the Kurds has depended on the coordinated use of economic and military measures.
