ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the symbolic importance of the war in the context of Iraqi politics and the kind of regime that Saddam Hussein constructed to dominate the Iraqi state. If one examines the invasion of Kuwait and Iraq's subsequent strategies for dealing with the consequences of that invasion in the light of constant themes, one can better understand Iraq's choices of targets and strategies throughout the crisis. The Iraq had been saved by steadfast and decisive leadership. To manage more important underpinnings of Saddam power, the Iraqi leader is obliged to play a number of roles, all of which left their mark on Iraqi government strategy during the crisis over Kuwait and in the after math of the war. Undoubtedly, the myths of collective identity were important to Saddam during the Kuwait crisis, both instrumentally and as appropriate forms of expression for himself and his entourage.
