ABSTRACT
Since the end of the Cold War, US security policy in the Persian Gulf has been dominated by the issue of Iraq. During the waning days of the superpower conflict, Iraq was a pawn in the great bipolar struggle for influence in the region. Iraq emerged as a diplomatic battleground between the United States and the Soviet Union, and it became a key ingredient for US strategies to contain Iran and the growth of anti- American fundamentalism in the Gulf. The development of the coalition was made easier by the high threat quotient posed by Saddam whose invasion threatened not only regional stability but the main tenets of the international order. In the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks, the George W. Bush administration sought to develop a coalition of coalitions. The ultimate success of the administration's Afghan policy set the stage for its actions with respect to Iraq.
