In this research, Walid Khalidi provides an overview of the Gulf crisis which erupted ‎ in the Summer of 1990, and addresses vital questions relating to its origins and ‎ consequences, such as: what caused Iraq to occupy Kuwait? Why do some Arab ‎ leaders and certain sectors of Arab public opinion sympathize with Saddam? What is ‎ Saddam's strategy? Khalidy, who is a leading authority on Middle Eastern history and ‎ the Arab-Israeli conflict, combines in his approach a retrospective analysis with a ‎ somber warning about the catastrophic consequences for all concerned of an all-out ‎ military confrontation.‎