Is it a sign of the improving situation in Iraq that the Iraqi Foreign Minister has found the time to do some serious historical research into the true name of the Gulf?
In what will likely be seen as a seminal contribution to historiography — and, no doubt, to regional peace building too — the Foreign Minister has finally put an end to the controversy surrounding the naming of that well-loved body of water, known variously as the (Arabian) Gulf and the Persian Gulf.
We have discussed Iranian sensitivities on this issue before, but it turns out all sides were wasting their time in pointless argument: the real name, the Iraqi Foreign Minister has discovered, is the Gulf of Basra.
Photo by Flickr user Alireza Teimoury, used under a Creative Commons license.
