English: Map of a Greater Iraq as envisioned by some Iraqi nationalists. The dark green represents contemporary Iraq. The medium green represents territory both claimed by Iraqi nationalists and held by Iraq such as Kuwait under Iraqi occupation, 1990-1991) or held in union by Iraq such as its federation with
Jordan, including Jordanian control over the
West Bank during the 1950s. Light green represents territory claimed by Iraqi nationalists that was not held by Iraq. Some Iraqi nationalists have held
irredentist claims to the Arab-populated province of
Khuzestan in
Iran,
Kuwait, and a small territory in
Saudi Arabia formerly part of the
Saudi–Kuwaiti neutral zone as parts of Iraq. (Miller, Robert S.
America's Disposable Soldiers: The Real Truth Behind Gulf War Illness. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: Hikma Books, 2002. Pp. 260.) After gaining independence in 1932, the Iraqi government immediately declared that Kuwait was rightfully a territory of Iraq, as it had been part of an Iraqi territory until the British creation of Kuwait after
World War I and thus stated that Kuwait was a British imperialist invention. (Duiker, William J; Spielvogel, Jackson J.
World History: From 1500. 5th edition. Belmont, California, USA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007. Pp. 839.) Iraqi and
pan-Arab nationalists during
World War II promoted merging the
Vichy French mandates of
Lebanon and
Syria along with the British mandate in
Palestine and
Transjordan together with Iraq into a single state. (Louis, William Roger.
The British Empire in the Middle East, 1945-1951: Arab Nationalism, the United States, and Postwar Imperialism. New York, New York, USA: Oxford University Press. Pp. 313.)