ABSTRACT
In common with many states of the developing world, the territorial and administrative definition of the Iraqi state came about suddenly through the intrusion of European military power. Voluntary participation by the people in the political process, leading to a sense that the government was answerable to them, might lay the foundations for a future collective identity to underpin the Iraqi state. The 1973 war with Israel provided the Iraqi leadership with the opportunity to demonstrate their active commitment to the long-running struggle against Zionism. The dictates of internal politics ensured that the Government could not simply abandon its objectives in Kurdistan, but they also ensured that the rhetoric and actions of Iraq brought home to the Iranian Government the possibility that Iraq and Iran might soon be engaged in direct conflict. Threats of reciprocal action, in the form of Iraqi aid to Iranian minorities, especially those of Arabistan/Khuzestan, had already been made to demonstrate Iraqi capabilities in this regard.
