ABSTRACT
From the onset, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the international reactions to it were charged with fears, hopes, and high expectations of fundamental structural and psychological change in the area. According to the well-known view of war as the "father of all things" and a catalyst for change, the Kuwait War was bound to constitute a watershed in Middle Eastern politics. Substantive changes caused by the Kuwait War, therefore, can be found in Arab-Israeli relations. Despite massive military spending, the security guarantees sought by the Arab Gulf states have ultimately rested on external actors. In the spring and summ er of 1991, an Arab solution to what was essentially an Arab problem seemed to be emerging in the form of the so-called SixPlus-Two pact, an alliance of the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus Egypt and Syria.
