For 40 years the primary objectives of U.S. policy in the Persian Gulf have been to assure access by the industrialized nations to the region's oil and to prevent those resources from falling under the control of the Soviet Union or any other hostile power. The recent events in Iran, the Iran-Iraq War and its aftermath, the maneuvering of a…

Defines war as symptom rather than cause. Identifies the root cause of the Middle East crisis as destruction of the regional balance of power through foreign augmentation of Iraqi power. Criticizes the tendency to see world problems as a fight between good and evil. Defines realism as the ability to see political realities as a balance of power.…

The United States policy of branding governments--especially those in developing nations--as "good guys" or "bad guys" has been costly. The price has been paid in lost lives, confrontations with the Soviet Union, loss of diplomatic flexibility, and domestic political stresses. It seems an opportune time, now that the United…