Regional Security after the Gulf Crisis: The American Role

The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent war in the Gulf have brought the issue of security in the Middle East to the top of the intemational agenda. Senior American policymakers have since referred to the need to establish, with U.S. participation, a "regional security structure" in the area to maintain future stability. But beyond public declarations, administration officials admit they have not devoted much thinking or discussion to the said mechanism's shape and substance.2 The idea for a security regime was first floated in early September 1990 by Secretary of State James A. Baker III in testimony before Congress. * But when pressed to elaborate, Mr. Baker would not, or could not, clarify the outlines of his vision. The ambiguity in Mr. Baker's position does not only