ABSTRACT
Western policymakers concerned with security in the Arab Gulf area have —since the 1958 revolution in Iraq—generally purveyed an image of a 'radical, socialist and Soviet-oriented' Iraq posing a threat to the 'conservative, moderate and pro-Western' Gulf states of the Arabian peninsula While the focus of this chapter is on Iraq's relations with the Arabian peninsula Gulf states, the description and analysis of these relations must inevitably take account of developments in Iraq's relationship with Iran-for the latter relationship has constituted a crucial influence on the character of the former. In conclusion, the strains so frequently evident in Iraq's relations with the other Arab states of the Gulf have not been caused primarily by 'radical Iraq' seeking to undermine the 'conservative monarchies'. A more prominent factor has been different perspectives in the international sphere most crucially regarding the role of non-Arab powers in the Gulf region.
