the iran-iraq war: protracted conflict, prolonged war

centuries of historical rivalry, ethnic particularity, religious and ideological differences, and boundary disputes have been among the major forces contributing to a protracted conflict between iran and its western neigh bors- the ottoman empire from 1517 and iraq since 1920. one of a combination of these factors have caused numerous military hostilities and many full-scale wars. the recent iran-iraq war (1980–88) was but the contempo rary phase of the old conflict. though bloody, none of the previous wars between iran and its neighbors continued unabated for as long as eight years and were fought with such intensity as the iran-iraq war. while centuries of rivalry generated the potential and the psychological setting for this war, the iranian revolution and the danger it posed to the interests of the two superpowers (us and the former ussr) and certain countries in the middle east created a context which contributed to the length of the war. this chapter examines the factors that contributed to the prolongation of the 1980–88 iran-iraq war