Joseph Kostiner. Conflict and Cooperation in the Gulf Region

Joseph Kostiner Conflict and Cooperation in the Gulf Region

Joseph Kostiner Conflict and Cooperation in the Gulf Region

Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. 1 st Edition 2009 All rights reserved VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften GWV Fachverlage GmbH, Wiesbaden 2009 Editorial Office: Frank Schindler VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften is part of the specialist publishing group Springer Science+Business Media. www.vs-verlag.de No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without prior permission of the copyright holder. Cover design: KünkelLopka Medienentwicklung, Heidelberg Printing and binding: Krips b.v., Meppel Printed on acid-free paper Printed in the Netherlands ISBN 978-3-531-16205-8

Preface The course at hand entitled Cooperation and Conflict in the Gulf Region is part of the module Conflict and Cooperation in International Relations of our B.A. Politics and Organization. Hence its subject is at the core of this module and takes the Persian Gulf region as an example to show how conflicts emerge, interact and intensify, but also how actors try to tackle these conflicts through international cooperation and build a security architecture in the Gulf region. The issues addressed theoretically in the other courses of this module are deepened here empirically. We have decided to take the Gulf region as a case in point because of the intense conflicts which concern not only the countries there but also Europe and the Western hemisphere. Due to its oil reserves the Gulf region has a central position in the world economy, and due to the struggle against Islamism and terrorism the unsolved security issues are in the main focus of International Relations. I am very glad that this course has been written by one of the profoundest regional experts: Prof. Dr. Joseph Kostiner. He has focused his research for many years on the history, politics, and societies especially of the Arabic countries in the Gulf region. Prof. Kostiner is Senior Research Fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies in Tel Aviv and Associate Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University. He has visited the FernUniversität in Hagen many times and discussed issues concerning the international relations of the Arab world with students and researchers. These colloquies have always been very fruitful. Finally, I would like to thank Prof. Kostiner for the good collaboration preparing this course. Georg Simonis Chair for International Conflicts and Environmental Policy Hagen, July 2007

Contents Preface List of Boxes 5 11 About the Author 12 Acknowledgments 13 Introduction 15 1 Emergence of Conflict 17 2 Regional Asymmetry 19 3 Geographical Disputes and Other Historical Sources of Tension Between Gulf States 22 Part One: The Iran-Iraq War 24 1 Introduction 24 2 Historical Sources of Conflict 24 2.1 Roots of the Historical Conflict 25 2.2 The Empires Legacies 27 2.3 Components of a Recurring Conflict 28 2.4 Another Component of Escalation: The Cold War and Western Attempts to Create an Anti-Soviet Alliance 31 2.5 Iran: The Gulf s Policeman 38 3 The Regional Status Quo 42 4 Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution 46 5 The War 50 6 Regional Impact of the Iran-Iraq War 53 6.1 The Tanker War 59 6.2 GCC and Kuwait 61 7 The Effect of the War on Iran and Iraq 65 7.1 Iraq 65 7.2 Iran 68 8 Economics in the Iran-Iraq War 72 8.1 Iraq 72 8.2 Iran 73 8.3 Neighboring Arab States 74

8 Contents 9 Conclusion 76 Part Two: The Iraq-Kuwait Conflict 78 1 Iraq s Passage to War 78 2 Kuwait: Confusing Friend and Foe 82 2.1 Kuwait s Security: The Attitude Towards Iraq 87 2.2 Kuwaiti Responses to Iraq s Demands 89 3 Inter-Arab Mediation of the Iraq-Kuwait Conflict 93 3.1 The Legacy of Mediation 94 3.2 Background to the Gulf Crisis 96 3.3 Approaching Mediation 99 3.4 The Mediators and Their Actions 103 3.5 After 2 August 107 3.6 Epilogue and Conclusions 112 4 The Unique Role of the United Nations during the Iraq-Kuwait Conflict 115 5 The Characteristics of the War 116 6 The Attempts at Post-War Accords 119 7 The Search for Gulf Security 123 7.1 The Arab Gulf States Indecisiveness: Basic Considerations 125 7.2 Difficulties in Arriving at a Security Arrangement 127 7.3 Divided Security and Growing Conflicts: Escalation of the Iraqi-Kuwaiti Tension 131 7.4 Iran s Bid for Regional Influence 132 7.5 The Saudi-Qatari Dispute 134 7.6 Gulf Security in the Fall of 1992 135 7.7 Attempts to Defuse Tensions: Attitudes Toward Egypt and Syria 136 7.8 Readdressing the Issue of a GCC Army 138 7.9 Limited Achievements 139 Part Three: Between the Gulf Wars: Restrained Conflict 141 1 Introduction 141 2 U.S. Foreign Policy Background: The Nixon Doctrine and Twin Pillars 142 3 U.S. Dual Containment 146 4 Iraq 147 4.1 1991 147 4.2 Perceptions in the Gulf 150 4.3 U.S. Policymaking toward Iraq 151

Contents 9 4.4 Iraq and the International Community 152 4.5 Iraqi Economy 155 4.6 Saddam s Defiance 156 4.7 New U.S. Policy toward Iraq? 162 5 Iran 163 5.1 The Iranian Economy during the 1990s 165 5.2 Social Unrest in Iran 167 5.3 U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Iran 168 5.4 Iranian Foreign Policy Background 170 5.5 Iranian Foreign Policy in the 1990s 172 5.6 The Iranian Nuclear Issue 177 5.7 Europe s "Critical Dialogue 179 5.8 Iranian Escalation leads to U.S. Sanctions 180 5.9 Iranian Response to U.S. Sanctions 183 6 Limitations of U.S. Sanctions 191 7 Gulf States Security during the 1990s 192 8 Gulf State Border Issues during the 1990s 194 8.1 Unity in Yemen 194 8.2 The Saudi Arabia-Yemen Border 195 8.3 Bahrain-Qatar Border Dispute 196 8.4 Oman-UAE Border 197 8.5 Gulf States and Iran 197 Abu Musa Two Tunbs Dispute 198 Part Four: Al Qa ida s Challenge: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and the War Against Terrorism, 1992 2005 201 1 Introduction 201 2 The Rise of Extremist Opposition 205 3 The 21 st Century: Religious Extremism Turns into Fierce Opposition 210 4 Terrorism 214 4.1 Achievements 219 4.2 Saudi Responses 219 4.3 Two main points worth mentioning in retrospect 222 5 Responses to Religious Radicalism and Terrorism 223 6 The Making of Zarqawi 225 7 The Impact of Terrorism and the Iraqi War The Gulf and Saudi Arabia 235 8 Regional Problems in the Gulf 239

10 Contents Part Five: Conclusion 244 1 Causes of Conflict 244 2 The GCC s Security Approach 245 3 The Build-Up to New Security Challenges 249 Appendices 251 Appendix 1: Chronology: Iran-Iraq War 251 Appendix 2: Chronology: The Iraq-Kuwait War 257 Appendix 3: The Iraq-Kuwait War - Relevant UN Security Council Resolutions 260 Appendix 4: Maps 263 Appendix 5: Middle East and Gulf Research: A Guide for Users 270 I. Middle East Journals 270 II. International Relations and Public Policy Research and Publications 270 III. Internet Research Resources for the Gulf 271 Appendix 5: Glossary 273 Bibliography 278 Books and Articles 278 Middle East Contemporary Survey (MECS; New York: Holmes and Meier) 286 Middle East Periodicals 286 English Language Periodicals and Journals 287

List of Boxes Box 1: Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1922 and 1930 29 Box 2: Baghdad Pact 31 Box 3: The Eisenhower Doctrine 33 Box 4: The Ba ath Party 35 Box 5: Dhofari Rebellion 38 Box 6: Carter Doctrine 56 Box 7: Arab Cooperation Council 98 Box 8: U.S. led Coalition Forces 118 Box 9: UNSCOM and UNIKOM 120 Box 10: The Nixon Doctrine 142 Box 11: Twin Pillars 143 Box 12: The Algiers Accord of 1975 145 Box 13: Dual Containment 146 Box 14: U.S. and British Air Strikes, 1992 2003: 154 Box 15: Wahhabism 202 Box 16: Ikhwan 203 Box 17: Abdullah Azzam 209 Box 18: Sayyid Qutb 211

About the Author Joseph Kostiner received his PhD at London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, in 1982 and is Senior Research Fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies. He was Chair of the School of History 2000 2004 and is Associate Professor at the Department of Middle Eastern and African History at Tel Aviv University. Prof. Kostiners fields of specialization are: history and current affairs of the Arabian Peninsula states, social history of the Middle East, state and nationbuilding in the Middle East. Prof. Kostiner is author of the following books: The Struggle for South Yemen (1984); South Yemen's Revolutionary Strategy (1990); From Chieftaincy to Monarchical State: The Making of Saudi Arabia 1916-1936 (1993); Yemen: The Tortuous Quest for Unity, 1990-1994 (1996). Coeditor (with P.S. Khoury) of Tribes and State Formation in the Middle East (1991). Editor of Middle East Monarchies (2000). He has written many articles, including The Arab States of the Gulf before and after the Second Gulf Crisis (Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 33, No. 4, 1997, pp. 788 798) and The United States and the Gulf States: Alliance in Need (MERIA Journal Vol. 2, No. 4, 1998).

Acknowledgments The assistance provided by the FernUniversität Hagen was the basis for the research underlying this book. I am grateful for Professor Dr. Georg Simonis of the FernUniversität for his help in facilitating this assistance, as well as for his continuous encouragement and friendship. A special thanks for additional financial assistance is owed to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, and its head Dr. Dore Gold. The completion of this research was made possible as a result of special assistance from my friend Dr. Paul Marcus. I am indebted to both Dr. Gold and Dr. Marcus for their generous support. I would also like to extend my gratitude to professor Eyal Zisser, the head of Tel Aviv University s Department of Middle Eastern History, and the head of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle eastern and African Studies, as well as to Professor Asher Susser, the former head of the Moshe Dayan center, for ongoing support. The kind hospitality of my relatives Dr. Margarette and Dr. Manfred Wächter provided me with a home whenever I stayed in Germany. Let this book be a token of appreciation for their kindness. I wish to thank Helmut Elbers, at the FernUniversität, whose assistance was an important contribution in bringing the manuscript to completion. I also wish to thank Sarah Ulmer-Sadeh and Brandon Friedman for their assistance. Mr. Friedman s contribution made him a real intellectual partner in conceiving this book.