Introduction

The issue of security in the Gulf has an importance which goes far beyond the regional location of the area. It is enough to note that instability in the area may result in the interruption of oil supplies to the rest of the world. This book, first published in 1981, considers some of the challenges facing the region following recent developments such as the fall of the Shah and the proclamation of the Islamic Republic in Iran, the Soviet presence in Afghanistan, the formation of an American task force to intervene in the area, the failure of the Camp David agreement and the Iran-Iraq war.