The use of chemical weapons was originally outlawed by the 1925 Geneva Protocol which banned the use of asphyxiating gases in warfare. This codified an implied taboo against the use of poison gas. Rather than a mechanism for enforcing norms of warfare, however, this taboo was used in the Middle East as a foreign policy tool, by perpetrators and foreign powers alike. With an eye towards drawing policy-relevant lessons, Asher Orkaby draws on three historical case studies across 60 years to explore the preconditions necessary for chemical warfare, the chemical strategies deployed, and the evolving nature of international response. Orkaby first considers Egypt's use of poison gas in Yemen during the 1960s and the obstacles presented by ICRC 'neutrality'. The study then examines Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons against Iranian troops and Kurdish civilians during the 1980s, along with its subsequent impact on international arms control and two Gulf Wars. The book ends with President Bashar al-Assad's chemical attacks during the Syrian Civil War (2012-24) and the concurrent decentralization of media and human rights discourse.

The use of chemical weapons was originally outlawed by the 1925 Geneva Protocol which banned the use of asphyxiating gases in warfare. This codified an implied taboo against the use of poison gas. Rather than a mechanism for enforcing norms of warfare, however, this taboo was used in the Middle East as a foreign policy tool, by perpetrators and foreign powers alike. With an eye towards drawing policy-relevant lessons, Asher Orkaby draws on three historical case studies across 60 years to explore the preconditions necessary for chemical warfare, the chemical strategies deployed, and the evolving nature of international response. Orkaby first considers Egypt's use of poison gas in Yemen during the 1960s and the obstacles presented by ICRC 'neutrality'. The study then examines Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's use of chemical weapons against Iranian troops and Kurdish civilians during the 1980s, along with its subsequent impact on international arms control and two Gulf Wars. The book ends with President Bashar al-Assad's chemical attacks during the Syrian Civil War (2012-24) and the concurrent decentralization of media and human rights discourse.