What changes have come about in the Middle East since the Gulf War? This paper, based on a conference at Wilton Park, concluded that instead of promoting Arab unity against the West, Saddam Hussein only emphasised the extent of Arab domestic weaknesses and inter-governmental rivalries. Iraqi ambitions to be regional power in the Gulf have been scotched for the forseeable future, and Iranian aspirations to this position are hampered by economic weakness, popular revolutionary politics and the strong US military presence in the Gulf. Other issues raised were the effects on the peace process between the Arab nations and Israel and the role of the PLO.