Journal of Contemporary Iraq & the Arab World - Volume 16, Issue 3, 2022

History shows that wherever there is war, there is propaganda. In part for that reason it is often difficult to discover the truth about events that take place during war. For instance, many initially believed the western assertions that a chemical attack took place in the Syrian city of Douma in April 2018 and that the Syrian government was responsible. Yet it has become increasingly clear that it is more likely than not that the alleged attack did not occur and was instrumentalized for western political purposes. By way of a content analysis and a Critical Discourse Analysis this article investigates how the two most reputable Dutch newspapers reported and commented on the alleged attack in 2018. In particular, it explores the extent of the newspapers’ reliance on western sources and to whom the newspapers assigned responsibility for the alleged attack. The results show that the newspapers heavily depended on western sources and promoted western propaganda by uncritically providing it much prominence. Despite a lack of evidence and before any investigation had taken place, the newspapers often held the Syrian government responsible for the alleged attack.

After many years of devastating military conflicts and sweeping international sanction, the Middle Eastern country was devoid of sufficient financial and technological resources to rebuild in the post-war era. And since the West did not commit itself to a thorough programme of nation-building and reconstruction as widely expected, the Iraqis had to turn to eastern nations. By embarking upon a looking-east approach, therefore, Iraq aimed to particularly persuade a number of rich and resourceful Asian countries into close cooperation with Baghdad. Many Asian nations were equally interested in rekindling their connections to the post-Saddam Iraq at a critical time when the doubts and reluctance of western businesses could provide them with a potentially unique opportunity to invest especially in the sectors more conducive to their long-term vested interests in the Mideast country.

The Cold War justifiably receives attention from scholars exploring interstate relations in the Middle East. While competition between the major nuclear powers invariably contributed to how regional politics transpired in the twentieth century, there may be much that is missing from the narrative adapting such a focus on external factors. This article provides a detailed analysis of intraregional relations that are informed by domestic, intra-Arab concerns. With special focus on the evolving relations between Iraq and Yemen over the course of the 1920–90 period, it is possible to argue for a new approach to the study of the Middle East and its relationship to the larger world during the Cold War. Domestic concerns prove as much an animating force in global affairs as those based in British, American and/or Soviet Bloc circles usually foregrounded.

Review of: The Bad Muslim Discount, Syed Masood (2022)

New York: First Anchor Books Edition, 357 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-98489-741-1, p/bk, $17.00

Review of: Oil Powers: A History of the U.S.–Saudi Alliance, Victor McFarland (2020)

New York: Columbia University Press, 384 pp.,

ISBN 978-0-23119-727-4, p/bk, $35.00