Abstract
Examines the aftermath of the first Gulf War and the prospect of democracy in the Middle East.
Description
One year after the United States and its UN allies successfully invaded Iraq, questions remained about the war that was fought and the peace that followed. While Saddam Hussein no longer posed a threat to neighboring countries, the political environment in the region remained for the most part unchanged. Democratic movements that many had expected to emerge in Kuwait or elsewhere had failed to materialize in the aftermath of Desert Storm, and despite Kurdish and Shi’a uprisings, Saddam’s power in Iraq remained undiminished. In this episode, William Quandt of the Brookings Institution and international correspondent Robin Wright address the United States’ interests in the region, the political repercussions of the Gulf War, and the problem of establishing democracies in the Middle East.
