A major U.S. aim in the Persian Gulf War of the early 1990s was to:

A major U.S. aim in the Persian Gulf War of the early 1990s was to:

• A. to keep Iraq from developing weapons of mass destruction
• B. to promote the growth of democracy in the region
• C. to protect U.S. access to regional oil reserves
• D. to prevent the spread of Islamic fundamentalism

Answer: (B)

The question taps how the United States framed its action in the Gulf War in terms of guiding values and long-term regional order. While removing Iraq from Kuwait and upholding international law were immediate, tangible objectives, U.S. policymakers also hawked a vision of furthering political reform and democratic participation in the region as part of a liberal order after the Cold War. In this view, supporting self-determination and open governance in the Gulf was seen as laying groundwork for a more stable, legitimate regional system, making the aim of promoting democracy the best answer. The other options emphasize security and material interests (oil) or contingencies (weapons programs, containment of fundamentalism), which were important but not the central, stated justification for the war in the framework the question is testing.

The question taps how the United States framed its action in the Gulf War in terms of guiding values and long-term regional order. While removing Iraq from Kuwait and upholding international law were immediate, tangible objectives, U.S. policymakers also hawked a vision of furthering political reform and democratic participation in the region as part of a liberal order after the Cold War. In this view, supporting self-determination and open governance in the Gulf was seen as laying groundwork for a more stable, legitimate regional system, making the aim of promoting democracy the best answer. The other options emphasize security and material interests (oil) or contingencies (weapons programs, containment of fundamentalism), which were important but not the central, stated justification for the war in the framework the question is testing.