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Turkey's cooperation with the UN and its policy toward Iraq during the Kuwait crisis were not a deviation from the practice of balancing relations with the West and its neighboring countries. Instead, they were a necessary move to protect Turkey's interests in Kuwait. Some critics contend Turkey acted as a tool of the US, but research finds the Turkish-US cooperation ended after Kuwait was liberated and President Bush refused to aid the Kurdish uprising in Iraq. Turkey has a difficult role in maintaining both its position in the West-controlled UN and as neighbor to a mistrustful Iraq.

The role of the US in the Persian Gulf War has important implications for conflict-laden regional powers and for the future of US defense policy. The war has reasserted the strong military power of the US and the role of international coalitions that may intervene in regional conflicts. It will also prompt regional powers to adjust their military strategies based on the tactics used by the US. With these reactions, the US must address the issues of military and economic strength and international legitimacy of its actions.

The discovery of Iraq's secret nuclear weapons program has highlighted the need for stronger nuclear arms control and nonproliferation measures. Iraq's nuclear capabilities have shown that developing countries also pose a threat to international peace. While the UN Security Council can help implement the safeguards adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA), it is upto member nations to defend and extend the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has made its nuclear verification procedures more effective since the post-Gulf War discovery of a secret nuclear program in Iraq. Steps taken by IAEA to increase its effectiveness include improving access to information, conducting special investigations and making structural improvements. The IAEA's role is important in assuring the members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that all the states are keeping their pledges.

The Gulf War brought out into the open tensions in the relations between Arab countries. The war saw the Arab world being divided into those countries supporting the US-led coalition against Iraq and those who chose to take a neutral stance in the conflict. In the light of continued UN sanctions against Iraq, most Arab countries at present have reversed their initially hostile attitude toward Iraq and are openly condemning perceived US intervention in Iraq's internal affairs. Furthermore, fears of Israel's nuclear capability has led some Arab countries to embark on their own nuclear arms procurement program.

Iraq's nuclear potential has been given very high priority by the US government and the United Nations since the end of the war. Kanjirathinkal and Hickey explore the implications of US/UN involvement in Iraq for developing countries in general and the 'New World Order'.

The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an action that Japan could not ignore, as Japan had aligned itself more closely than ever with the US. The political ramifications of this have been significant, as Japan's constitution specifically calls for an avoidance of war and a downplaying of any military role.

ANDREW FENTON COOPER, RICHARD A. HIGGOTT, and KIM RICHARD NOSSAL take issue with the common view that the Gulf conflict provides an example of successful American leadership in international politics. They argue that if leadership is examined from the perspective of the follower instead of the leader, the American role in the Gulf war emerges in a different light.