The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait so dominated Middle Eastern politics in 1990 that the annual Middle East Contemporary Survey for that year really contains two separate books: before 2 August, and after. In over three-quarters of the chapters, the invasion gets mentioned in the opening paragraph; in the others it follows soon after. The Saudi chapter (by Jacob Goldberg) starts with arresting pairs of quotes, one pre-invasion, the other post-. The earlier ones refer to Saddam Husayn's "wisdom" and "farsightedness," while claiming that the kingdom will rely entirely on its own soldiers. The latter, of course, state just the opposite. Similar reversals characterize the policies of many other states in the Persian Gulf region.
Perhaps the most interesting chapters deal with the states which prevaricated in response to the invasion, especially Iran (by David Menashri) and Libya (Yehudit Ronen); the full extent of their incoherence only becomes evident in retrospect.
The Middle East Contemporary Survey also covers the significant events which never quite got the attention they deserve. In 1990, these included the unification of the Yemens, the fundamentalist Muslims' consolidation of power in Sudan, and Lebanon's Ta'if Accord. As ever, the Survey is the place to look for a quick, reliable lesson on current Middle Eastern history.
