fbpx
Wikipedia

United States foreign policy in the Middle East

May 04, 2024

United States foreign policy in the Middle East has its roots in the early 19th-century Tripolitan War that occurred shortly after the 1776 establishment of the United States as an independent sovereign state, but became much more expansive in the aftermath of World War II. With the goal of preventing the Soviet Union from gaining influence in the region during the Cold War, American foreign policy saw the deliverance of extensive support in various forms to anti-communist and anti-Soviet regimes; among the top priorities for the U.S. with regards to this goal was its support for the State of Israel against its Soviet-backed neighbouring Arab countries during the peak of the Arab–Israeli conflict. The U.S. also came to replace the United Kingdom as the main security patron for Saudi Arabia as well as the other Arab states of the Persian Gulf in the 1960s and 1970s in order to ensure, among other goals, a stable flow of oil from the Persian Gulf.[1] As of 2023, the U.S. has diplomatic relations with every country in the Middle East except for Iran, with whom relations were severed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and Syria, with whom relations were suspended in 2012 following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War.

U.S. Marines on guard duty in April 2003 near a burning oil well in the Rumaila oil field of Basra, Iraq, following the 2003 U.S. invasion and during the Iraq War.

American influence in the Greater Middle East has reduced in recent years, most significantly since the Arab Spring,[2] yet is still substantial.[3] Currently stated priorities of the U.S. government in the Middle East include resolving the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and limiting the spread of weapons of mass destruction[4] among regional states, particularly Iran.

History edit

 
U.S. naval officer Stephen Decatur boarding a Tripolitan gunboat during the First Barbary War, 1804

The United States' relationship with the Middle East prior to World War I was limited, although commercial ties existed even in the early 19th century. The U.S. engaged in a military conflict with Ottoman Tripolitania from 1801 to 1805 during the Tripolitan War regarding tributary payment which president Thomas Jefferson refused to pay. President Andrew Jackson established formal ties with the Sultan of Muscat and Oman in 1833. (The Sultan saw the U.S. as a potential balance to Britain's overwhelming regional influence.) Commercial relations opened between the U.S. and Persia in 1857, after Britain persuaded the Persian government not to ratify a similar agreement in 1851.[5]

Britain and France took control of most of the former Ottoman Empire after defeating it in World War I. They held mandates from the League of Nations. The United States refused to take any mandates in the region and was "popular and respected throughout the Middle East".[6] Indeed, "Americans were seen as good people, untainted by the selfishness and duplicity associated with the Europeans."[7] American Christian missionaries brought modern medicine and set up educational institutions all over the Middle East as an adjunct to their religious proselytizing. Moreover, the United States had provided the Middle East with highly skilled petroleum engineers.[8] Thus, there were some connections made between the United States and the Middle East before the Second World War. Other examples of cooperation between the U.S. and the Middle East are the Red Line Agreement signed in 1928 and the Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement signed in 1944. Both of these agreements were legally binding and reflected an American interest in control of Middle Eastern energy resources, mainly oil, and moreover reflected an American "security imperative to prevent the (re)emergence of a powerful regional rival".[9] The Red Line Agreement had been "part of a network of agreements made in the 1920s to restrict the supply of petroleum and ensure that the major [mostly American] companies ... could control oil prices on world markets".[10] The Red Line agreement governed the development of Middle East oil for the next two decades. The Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement of 1944 was based on negotiations between the United States and Britain over the control of Middle Eastern oil. Below is shown what the American President Franklin D. Roosevelt had in mind for a British Ambassador in 1944:

Persian oil ... is yours. We share the oil of Iraq and Kuwait. As for Saudi Arabian oil, it's ours.[11]

 
King Ibn Saud converses with President Franklin D. Roosevelt on board the USS Quincy, in February 1945.

On August 8, 1944, the Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement was signed, dividing Middle Eastern oil between the United States and Britain. Consequently, political scholar Fred H. Lawson remarks, that by mid-1944, U.S. officials had buttressed their country's position on the peninsula by concluding an Anglo-American Petroleum Agreement that protected "all valid concession contracts and lawfully acquired rights" belonging to the signatories and established a principle of "equal opportunity" in those areas where no concession had yet been assigned.[12] Furthermore, political scholar Irvine Anderson summarizes American interests in the Middle East in the late 19th century and the early 20th century noting that, "the most significant event of the period was the transition of the United States from the position of net exporter to one of net importer of petroleum."[13]

By the end of the Second World War, Washington had come to consider the Middle East region as "the most strategically important area of the world."[14] and "one of the greatest material prizes in world history," argues Noam Chomsky.[14] For that reason, it was not until around the period of World War II that America became directly involved in the Middle East region. At this time the region was going through great social, economic, and political changes and as a result, internally the Middle East was in turmoil. Politically, the Middle East was experiencing an upsurge in the popularity of nationalistic politics and an increase in the number of nationalistic political groups across the region, which was causing great trouble for the English and French colonial powers.

Historian Jack Watson explains that "Europeans could not hold these lands indefinitely in the face of Arab nationalism".[15] Watson then continues, stating that "by the end of 1946 Palestine was the last remaining mandate, but it posed a major problem".[16] In truth, this nationalistic political trend clashed with American interests in the Middle East, which were, as Middle East scholar Louise Fawcett argues, "about the Soviet Union, access to oil and the project for a Jewish state in Palestine".[17] Hence, Arabist Ambassador Raymond Hare described the Second World War, as "the great divide" in United States' relationship with the Middle East, because these three interests would later serve as a backdrop and reasoning for a great deal of American interventions in the Middle East and thus also come to be the cause of several future conflicts between the United States & the Middle East.[7]

As of 2024, the United States has approximately 45,000 troops in the region, including approximately 2,500 troops stationed in Iraq, 900 troops stationed in Syria, and others stationed in Bahrain, Djibouti, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. soldiers at the country's base. About 15,000 of these troops were deployed to the region as part of a temporary surge after October 7 2023, with the United States retaining about 30,000 troops until then. The troops are a fraction of the number the U.S. deployed in 2010, when it had more than 100,000 troops in Iraq, about 70,000 in Afghanistan and many more in neighboring countries. After 2015, the U.S. military presence in Iraq declined sharply; and all U.S. troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2021.[18]

Israel edit

Main article: Israel–United States relations
See also: Palestine–United States relations, Israel lobby in the United States, and Israel–United States military relations
 
US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Israel, 18 October 2023

Israel is designated by the United States as a major non-NATO ally. Israel–United States relations are an essential factor in the United States foreign policy in the Middle East. Congress has placed significant importance on the maintenance of a close relationship with Israel. Analysts maintain that Israel is a strategic ally for the United States, and that relations with the former will strengthen the latter's influence in the Middle East.[19] Former US senator Jesse Helms argued that the military foothold offered by Israel in the region alone justified the expense of American military aid. He referred to Israel as "America's aircraft carrier in the Middle East".[20][21]

Formation of Israel (1948) edit

Main article: 1948 Arab–Israeli War

In 1947, the U.S. and the Truman administration, under domestic political pressure, pushed for a solution and resolution on the Arab–Israeli conflict, and in May 1948 the new state of Israel came into existence. This process was not without its fights and loss of lives. Nevertheless, "the first state to extend diplomatic recognition to Israel was the United States; the Soviet Union and several Western nations quickly followed suit. No Arab state, however, recognized Israel."[22] The United States denounced the Arab invasion of former Mandatory Palestine that took place shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence.[23]

Israel-Hamas War (2023) edit

Main article: United States support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war

Following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent Israel–Hamas war, the Biden administration requested ~$14 billion in aid from congress to provide military aid for Israel. Congress later approved a bill on February 13, 2024, the legislation included ~$19.3 billion; to support military operations ($14.1bn), air defense ($4bn), and the Iron Beam defense system ($1.2bn). The legislation also included $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, along with those caught in warzones across the globe.[24]

As a result of the on-going support of Israel in the face of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the United States and President Joe Biden have faced scrutiny and backlash from NGOs, such as Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders, and the Center for Constitutional Rights. It has been said by some academics, that the US is complicit in the alleged genocide of Palestinians committed by Israel. The CCR has filed a lawsuit against Biden for allegedly "failing in his duty under international and US laws to prevent Israel committing genocide in Gaza."[25]

Syrian coup d'état (1949) edit

Main article: Syria–United States relations

Syria became an independent republic in 1946, but the March 1949 Syrian coup d'état, led by Army Chief of Staff Husni al-Za'im, ended the initial period of civilian rule. Za'im met at least six times with CIA operatives in the months prior to the coup to discuss his plan to seize power. Za'im requested American funding or personnel, but it is not known whether this assistance was provided. Once in power, Za'im made several key decisions that benefitted the United States. He approved the Trans-Arabian Pipeline (TAPLINE), an American project designed to transport Saudi Arabian oil to Mediterranean ports. Construction of TAPLINE had been delayed due to Syrian intransigence. Za'im also improved relations with two American allies in the region: Israel and Turkey. He signed an armistice with Israel, formally ending the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and he renounced Syrian claims to Hatay Province, a major source of dispute between Syria and Turkey. Za'im also cracked down on local communists. However, Za'im's regime was short-lived. He was overthrown in August, just four and a half months after seizing power.[26][27][28][29]

Mosaddeq and the Shah of Iran (1953) edit

Main article: Iran–United States relations
See also: 1953 Iranian coup d'état and Abadan Crisis
 
Supporters of Mohammed Mosaddeq in 1952

Opposed to foreign intervention in Iran and a keen nationalist, Mohammed Mosaddeq became the prime minister of Iran in 1951. Thus, when Mosaddeq was elected he chose to nationalize the Iranian oil industry, where previously British holdings had generated great profits for Britain through the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Furthermore, prior to the nationalization of Iranian oil, Mosaddeq had also cut all diplomatic ties with Britain.[30] The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was opposed to the nationalization of Iranian oil as he feared this would result in an oil embargo, which would destroy Iran's economy and thus, the Shah was very concerned with the effect of Mosaddeq's policies on Iran. Equally worried were workers in the Iranian oil industry, when they experienced the economic effect of the sanctions on Iranian oil exports which Mosaddeq's policies had resulted in, and riots were happening across Iran.[31]

Thus, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi asked Mosaddeq to resign, as was the Shah's constitutional right, but Mosaddeq refused, which resulted in national uprisings. The Shah, fearing for his personal security, fled the country but nominated General Fazlollah Zahedi as the new Prime Minister. Although General Fazlollah Zahedi was a nationalist, he did not agree with the Mosaddeq's lenient attitude towards the communist Tudeh party, which the United States had also become increasingly concerned with, fearing Soviet influence spreading in the Middle East. Therefore, in late 1952, the British government asked the U.S. administration for help with the removal of Mohammed Mosaddeq. President Harry S. Truman thought Mossadeq was a valuable bulwark against Soviet influence.[32] However, Truman left office in January 1953, and the new administration of Dwight Eisenhower shared British concern over Mossadeq. Allen Dulles, the director of the CIA, approved one million dollars on April 4, 1953, to be used "in any way that would bring about the fall of Mossadegh"[33] Consequently, after a failed attempt on August 15, "on August 19, 1953, General Fazlollah Zahedi succeeded [with the help of the United States and Britain] and Mossadegh was overthrown. The CIA covertly funneled five million dollars to General Zahedi's regime on August 21, 1953."[33]

This CIA operation, often referred to as Operation Ajax and led by CIA officer Kermit Roosevelt Jr., ensured the return of the Shah on August 22, 1953.[31]

Suez Crisis (1956) edit

Main articles: Suez Crisis and Foreign policy of the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration
President Eisenhower press conference about the crisis, 9 August 1956

Although accepting large sums of military aid from the United States in 1954, by 1956 Egyptian leader Nasser had grown tired of the American influence in the country. The involvement that the U.S. would take in Egyptian business and politics in return for aid, Nasser thought "smacked of colonialism."[34] Indeed, as political scholar B.M. Bleckman argued in 1978, "Nasser had ambivalent feelings toward the United States. From 1952 to 1954 he was on close terms with U.S. officials and was viewed in Washington as a promising moderate Arab leader. The conclusion of an arms deal with the USSR in 1955, however, had cooled the relationship between Cairo and Washington considerably, and the Dulles-Eisenhower decision to withdraw the offer to finance the Aswan High Dam in mid-1956 was a further blow to the chances of maintaining friendly ties. Eisenhower's stand against the British, French and Israeli attack on Egypt in October 1956 created a momentary sense of gratitude on the part of Nasser, but the subsequent development of the Eisenhower Doctrine, so clearly aimed at 'containing' Nasserism, undermined what little goodwill existed toward the United States in Cairo."[35] "The Suez Crisis of 1956 marked the demise of British power and its gradual replacement by the USA as the dominant power in the Middle East."[36] The Eisenhower Doctrine became a manifestation of this process. "The general objective of the Eisenhower Doctrine, like that of the Truman Doctrine formulated ten years earlier, was the containment of Soviet expansion."[37] Furthermore, when the Doctrine was finalized on March 9, 1957, it "essentially gave the president the latitude to intervene militarily in the Middle East ... without having to resort to Congress."[38] indeed as, Middle East scholar Irene L. Gerdzier explains "that with the Eisenhower Doctrine the United States emerged "as the uncontested Western power ... in the Middle East."[39]

Eisenhower Doctrine edit

Main article: Eisenhower Doctrine
 
Nasser and Eisenhower in New York, 1960

In response to the power vacuum in the Middle East following the Suez Crisis, the Eisenhower administration developed a new policy designed to stabilize the region against Soviet threats or internal turmoil. Given the collapse of British prestige and the rise of Soviet interest in the region, the president informed Congress on January 5, 1957, that it was essential for the U.S. to accept new responsibilities for the security of the Middle East. Under the policy, known as the Eisenhower Doctrine, any Middle Eastern country could request American economic assistance or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression. Though Eisenhower found it difficult to convince leading Arab states or Israel to endorse the doctrine, he applied the new doctrine by dispensing economic aid to shore up the Kingdom of Jordan, encouraging Syria's neighbors to consider military operations against it, and sending U.S. troops into Lebanon to prevent a radical revolution from sweeping over that country.[40] The troops sent to Lebanon never saw any fighting, but the deployment marked the only time during Eisenhower's presidency when U.S. troops were sent abroad into a potential combat situation.[41]

Though U.S. aid helped Lebanon and Jordan avoid revolution, the Eisenhower doctrine enhanced Nasser's prestige as the preeminent Arab nationalist. Partly as a result of the bungled U.S. intervention in Syria, Nasser established the short-lived United Arab Republic, a political union between Egypt and Syria.[42] The U.S. also lost a sympathetic Middle Eastern government due to the 1958 Iraqi coup d'état, which saw King Faisal I replaced by General Abd al-Karim Qasim as the leader of Iraq.[43]

Jordan edit

Main article: Jordan–United States relations

Meanwhile, in Jordan nationalistic anti-government rioting broke out and the United States decided to send a battalion of marines to nearby Lebanon prepared to intervene in Jordan later that year. Douglas Little argues that Washington's decision to use the military resulted from a determination to support a beleaguered, conservative pro-Western regime in Lebanon, repel Nasser's pan-Arabism, and limit Soviet influence in the oil-rich region. However Little concludes that the unnecessary American action brought negative long-term consequences, notably the undermining of Lebanon's fragile, multi-ethnic political coalition and the alienation of Arab nationalism throughout the region.[44] To keep the pro-American King Hussein of Jordan in power, the CIA sent millions of dollars a year of subsidies. In the mid-1950s the U.S. supported allies in Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia and sent fleets to be near Syria.[45] However, 1958 was to become a difficult year in U.S. foreign policy; in 1958 Syria and Egypt were merged into the "United Arab Republic", anti-American and anti-government revolts started occurring in Lebanon, causing the Lebanese president Chamoun to ask America for help, and the very pro-American King Feisal the 2nd of Iraq was overthrown by a group of nationalistic military officers.[46] It was quite "commonly believed that [Nasser] ... stirred up the unrest in Lebanon and, perhaps, had helped to plan the Iraqi revolution."[47]

Six-Day War (1967) and Black September (1970) edit

Main article: Black September

In June 1967 Israel fought with Egypt, Jordan, and Syria in the Six-Day War. As a result of the war, Israel captured the West Bank, Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula. The U.S. supported Israel with weapons and continued to support Israel financially throughout the 1970s. On September 17, 1970, with U.S. and Israeli help, Jordanian troops attacked PLO guerrilla camps, while Jordan's U.S.-supplied air force dropped napalm from above. The U.S. deployed the aircraft carrier Independence and six destroyers off the coast of Lebanon and readied troops in Turkey to support the assault.

The American interventions in the years before the Iranian revolution have all proven to be based in part on economic considerations, but more so have been influenced and led by the international Cold War context.[48]

Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988) edit

On 22 September 1980, Saddam Hussein's Iraq attacked Ayatollah Khomeini ruled Iran, starting bombing 10 military airfields.[49]

Support for Iraq edit

Main article: United States support for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War
Donald Rumsfeld meets Saddam Hussein on 19–20 December 1983

Ted Koppel's ABC News broadcast of July 1992 points out the US cooperation with Iraq, by sending money, armaments, dual-use technology and if necessary, the provision of emergency action plans against Iran.[50] According to revealed CIA files, the United States supported Hussein's Iraq even to the point of a US awareness of Iraqi use of chemical armaments. This violated the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which Iraq did not approve. Moreover, the US Defense Intelligence Agency provided Iraq with satellite positions of Iranian troops to help keep track of the enemies.[51] American position in the war played "a secretly but unambiguously" pro-Iraq support.[52]

A few scholars have argued the US gave a "green light" to Hussein's attack on Iran.[53] Yet, considering now available US and Iraqi papers, the "green light" hypothesis is "more a myth than reality". US did not provide an initial encouragement to let the war begin as well as Hussein's attack was independent of the US.[54]

See also: Iraq–United States relations

Support for Iran edit

See also: Iran–Contra affair and Israel's role in the Iran–Iraq war

US-Iran relations drastically changed since the Iranian 1979 revolution. It marked the fall of the Shah and its closeness with the Western world and the takeover of Khomeini with a return to Islamic law. In 1979 the US Embassy in Teheran was caught by protesters, and American civilians were taken hostages.[55] In 1980, the US changed policy to allow Israel to sell American armament to Iran during the war. The deal between US and Israel was coordinated by the State Department Counselor, McFarlane, with US Secretary of State Alexander Haig Jr. and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreeing to a 6 to 18 months period weapons' provision.[56] This support to Iran was first explained as a way to have back the American hostages. Yet, the hostages were delivered before the US supply of weapons to Iran.[57] In addition, this armament provision lasts for more than the established period.[56] Indeed, this was later known as the Iran-Contra Affair publicly divulgated in November 1985. US supplied weapons to Iran through Israel, and the profit gained went to finance the Contra rebels, opponents to the Nicaragua Sandinista Front.[58]

Kuwait and the Gulf War (1991) edit

Main article: Gulf War
Further information: Coalition of the Gulf War and Iraqi invasion of Kuwait

The Gulf War in 1991 opposed a coalition of 35 countries led by the United States against Iraq after it invades Kuwait. Iraq had been an ally of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, resulting in little relation with the US. After Iraq threatened to invade Kuwait, the US said they would also protect their allies in the region against Iraq's invasion.[59] After the invasion in 1990, economic sanctions are implemented when the US request a meeting of the United Nations Security Council and adopt Resolution 660.[60] The US rejected the proposal of the Iraqi army to leave Kuwait if a solution for Palestine is found.[61] Military means are employed by the US in 1991, as Resolution 678 allows.[62] Also, the coalition is created, with 73% of the armed force being American. The United States armed forces lead many attacks on the Iraqi army in several battles, through air strikes and land battles.[63]

Saudi Arabia edit

Main article: Saudi Arabia–United States relations
See also: Saudi Arabia lobby in the United States
 
President Obama with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, 27 January 2015

Saudi Arabia and the United States are strategic allies,[64][65][66] but relations with the U.S. became strained following September 11 attacks.[67]

Foreign policies of the US in Saudi Arabia started with the Quincy Agreement in 1945, in which the US agreed to provide Saudi Arabia with military security in exchange for secure access to supplies of oil. Military aid was provided to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War, and almost 500,000 soldiers were sent to protect Saudi Arabia from Iraq.[68]

In March 2015, President Barack Obama declared that he had authorized U.S. forces to provide logistical and intelligence support to the Saudis in their military intervention in Yemen, establishing a "Joint Planning Cell" with Saudi Arabia.[69] The report by Human Rights Watch stated that US-made bombs were being used in attacks indiscriminately targeting civilians and violating the laws of war.[70]

US- Saudi Arabia Arm deal edit

Main article: 2017 United States–Saudi Arabia arms deal

Both countries have an interest in fighting terrorism and are allies. In 2017, an agreement aiming to provide Saudi Arabia with $115 billion of weapons containing tanks, combat ships and missile defence systems was announced by President Donald Trump. In 2018, the Saudi Government had purchased over $14.5 billion of weapons to the US. Also in 2018, the Saudi-led coalition fighting terrorism in Yemen bombed a school bus killing 40 children, with a bomb provided by the United States. Many criticized the United States' support for Saudi intervention in Yemen which contributed to the killing of 10,000 children.[71] In December 2018, the end of American assistance to Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen in voted by senators.[72]

The lack of support from the US for the Saudi-led coalition interventions in Yemen stained the relationship of the two countries, causing Saudi Arabia to refuse the US's request of increasing oil production.[73]

Afghanistan edit

Main articles: Operation Cyclone, War on terror, and War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Iraqi conflict edit

Main articles: Iraq War and American-led intervention in Iraq (2014–present)

Libya (2011–present) edit

Main articles: First Libyan Civil War, 2011 military intervention in Libya, and Second Libyan Civil War

Yemen edit

Main article: United States–Yemen relations

20th century edit

The US established diplomatic relations with Yemen in 1947 when it became a member of the United Nations. The Yemen Arab Republic is created in 1962 and recognized by the US the same year. In 1967, the US recognize the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. The 20th century's Us policies in Yemen support the unification and are largely concentrated on humanitarian aid and some military operations. In the 1990s, the US develop a $42 million program in Yemen subsidizing agriculture, education and health.[74] In return, the Yemeni government cooperates with US oil companies.[75] US-Yemen relationship deteriorates when both take different sides during the Kuwait crisis[75]

21st century edit

See also: United States support for Saudi Arabian–led operations in Yemen, Foreign involvement in the Yemeni civil war (2014–present), and Red Sea crisis
 
March for Yemen in New York City in August 2020

Al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks in the United States have transformed US's policies in Yemen. The US has engaged in many military actions against the terrorist group but also humanitarian help and cooperation with other actors. Also, the Yemeni government improved its cooperation in dismantling the terrorist group with the US government after this event.

Over the last decades, the US has responded to Yemen's humanitarian crisis caused by the war. The reported funding in the country from the US has increased this past decade from $115m in 2012 to almost a billion in 2019. It funds sectors like the supply of food security, health, education and protection.[76] But the blockade of access to the country by the Saudi-led coalition, which has received support from the United States, prevents humanitarian aid to be fully applied.[77]

Military policies in Yemen have increased since the replacement of the previous president Ali Abdullah Saleh by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, far more cooperative in fighting terrorism in Yemen. Military policies are characterized by the training of the military by the US forces, the supply of weapons but also air strikes. The US also concluded an agreement with Saudi Arabia in 2015 which engages the US in supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia for counterterrorist actions in Yemen.

Syria (2011–present) edit

Main article: American-led intervention in the Syrian civil war
See also: Timber Sycamore

2011 saw several anti-governmental protests arising in many Arab countries, known as the Arab Spring. Syria opposed the Assad government through demonstrations which were put down fomenting a civil war.[78]

US involvement in the Syrian civil war started under the Obama presidency, with the involvement of US troops in 2015.[79] US troops' involvement continued under the Trump presidency, although Trump stated on several occasions that he did not want "boots on the ground" in Syria for much longer, asking the army to retire altogether, which never happened. US continued to lead an alliance of up to 74 countries to fight against ISIS terrorist organization, but also with peacekeeping and patrolling of oilfields missions. The situation became more complicated in 2019, after Turkey struck an agreement with Russia, whose army also got directly involved. The US and the Western coalition got involved in multiple fights, mostly on the side of the Kurdish led YPG and SDF liberation army, causing therefore tensions with Turkey, which fundamentally never stopped fighting Kurds in Syria.[80] Trump's presidency has not made things any easier for US troops deployed in Syria, moving from showing little interest[81] to showing interest in the oilfields located in the North-Eastern province of Syria, to finally showing signs of appropriating a victory that did not really happen.[82] But the situation remains far from clear for the US army in Syria[83] with its presence continuing under the Biden presidency, with focus on military operations and airstrikes shifting towards the East, to better fight Iran supported militias.[84]

Turkey edit

Main article: Turkey–United States relations
 
President Joe Biden and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey in July 2023

Coup attempt (2016) edit

On 15 July 2016, a coup d'état was attempted in Turkey by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces against state institutions, including, but not limited to the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The Turkish government accused the coup leaders of being linked to the Gülen movement, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the Republic of Turkey and led by Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish businessman and cleric who lives in Pennsylvania, United States. Erdoğan accuses Gülen of being behind the coup—a claim that Gülen denies—and accused the United States of harboring him. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused the head of United States Central Command, chief General Joseph Votel[85] of "siding with coup plotters," (after Votel accused the Turkish government of arresting the Pentagon's contacts in Turkey).[86]

Bilateral relations in the Greater Middle East edit

American allies edit

States

Autonomous region

Factions and organizations

Ex-allies

Hostile relations with America edit

States

Organizations

Criticism edit

Main article: Criticism of United States foreign policy
 
Protest against U.S. involvement in the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, March 2018

The U.S. has been accused by some U.N. officials of condoning actions by Israel against Palestinians.[94]

See also edit

Books

Notes edit

  1. ^ The Trump administration ends CIA arms support for anti-Assad Syria rebels in 2017
  2. ^ Relations between the two have deteriorated since about 2016 following the aftermath of the 2016 Turkish coup attempt
  3. ^ Although the two countries still maintain a certain degree of cooperation, relations have worsened ever since the end of the War in Iraq
  4. ^ Most countries, including the United States, have not recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan after 2021

References edit

  1. ^ "An Agent-Based Model of the Acquisition of U.S. Client States" (PDF). University of Washington. 2003.
  2. ^ Jenkins, Brian Michael (16 September 2013). "Ten Reasons America's Influence Has Fallen in the Middle East". Slate Magazine.
  3. ^ Byman, Daniel; Bjerg Moller, Sara (2016). "The United States and the Middle East: Interests, Risks, and Costs". In Valentino, Suri (ed.). Sustainable Security: Rethinking American National Security Strategy. pp. 263–309.
  4. ^ Hunt, Jonathan (15 April 2017). "How Weapons of Mass Destruction Became 'Red Lines' for America". The Atlantic.
  5. ^ Fain, W. Taylor (15 June 2008). American Ascendance and British Retreat in the Persian Gulf Region. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-0-230-60151-2. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
  6. ^ Fawcett, L., (2005) The International Relations of the Middle East, UK: Oxford University Press, p. 284
  7. ^ a b Fawcett, L. (2005) The International Relations of the Middle East UK: Oxford University Press p 285
  8. ^ Rugh, W. A. (2005) American Encounters with Arabs: The Soft Power of U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Middle East U.S.: Praeger Publishers Inc. ISBN 978-0-275-98817-3 pp 25–26
  9. ^ Le Billon, P., El Khatib, F. (March 2004) "From free oil to 'freedom oil': terrorism, war and U.S. Geopolitics in the Persian Gulf", Geopolitics, Volume 9, Issue 1 p. 109
  10. ^ Review (Winter 1982): "State Power and Industry Influence: American Foreign Oil Policy in the 1940s", International Organization 36, no. 1 p. 168
  11. ^ Yergin, D (1991) The Prize: The Epic quest for Oil, Money and Power New York: Simon and Schuster p 401
  12. ^ Lawson, F. H. (Aug., 1989) "The Iranian Crisis of 1945–1946 and the Spiral Model of International Conflict" International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol. 21, No. 3 p. 310
  13. ^ Irvine Anderson, Aramco, The United States, and Saudi Arabia (Princeton University Press, 1981) p. 36.
  14. ^ a b Chomsky, Noam (January/February 2005) "Imperial Presidency", Canadian Dimension, Vol. 39, No. 1 p. 8
  15. ^ Watson, J. B. (1981) Success in Twentieth century World Affairs since 1919 Norwich: John Murray (Publishers) Ltd p. 295
  16. ^ Watson, J. B. (1981), Success in Twentieth Century World Affairs since 1919, Norwich: John Murray (Publishers) Ltd p. 295
  17. ^ Fawcett, L. (2005), International Relations of the Middle East UK: Oxford University Press, p. 284
  18. ^ Byman, Daniel (12 March 2024). "Why the Middle East Still Needs America". Foreign Affairs. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  19. ^ Israeli-United States Relations 4 November 2002 at the Wayback Machine (Adapted from a report by Clyde R. Mark, Congressional Research Service. Updated 17 October 2002)
  20. ^ "Top Secret American Military Installations in Israel". Jonathanpollard.org. 28 January 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  21. ^ Helms, Jesse (January 11, 1995). "Jesse Helms: Setting the Record Straight". Middle East Quarterly (Interview). Vol. 2, no. 1. Interviewed by Daniel Pipes; Patrick Clawson. Middle East Forum. Retrieved 2018-06-01.
  22. ^ McWilliams, W, C, Piotrowski, H, (6th ed.)(2005) The World since 1945: A History of International Relations U.S. Lynne Rienner Publishers p 154
  23. ^ Tucker, Spencer C. (2008). The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 528. ISBN 978-1-85109-841-5. from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  24. ^ What’s inside the Senate’s $95 billion bill to aid Ukraine and Israel and counter China Associated Press February 13, 2024
  25. ^ US rights group sues Biden for alleged ‘failure to prevent genocide’ in Gaza The Guardian November 13, 2023
  26. ^ Douglas Little (1990). "Cold War and Covert Action: The United States and Syria, 1945–1958". Middle East Journal. 44 (1).
  27. ^ "1949–1958, Syria: Early Experiments in Cover Action, Douglas Little, Professor, Department of History, Clark University" (PDF). Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  28. ^ Gendzier, Irene L. (1997). Notes from the Minefield: United States Intervention in Lebanon and the Middle East, 1945–1958. Columbia University Press. p. 98. ISBN 9780231140119. Retrieved 13 February 2012. Recent investigation ... indicates that CIA agents Miles Copeland and Stephen Meade ... were directly involved in the coup in which Syrian colonel Husni Za'im seized power. According to the former CIA agent Wilbur Eveland, the coup was carried out in order to obtain Syrian ratification of TAPLINE.
  29. ^ Gerolymatos, André (2010). Castles Made of Sand: A Century of Anglo-American Espionage and Intervention in the Middle East. Thomas Dunne books (MacMillan). ISBN 9781429913720. Retrieved 13 February 2012. Miles Copeland, formerly a CIA agent, has outlined how he and Stephen Meade backed Zaim, and American archival sources confirm that it was during this period that Meade established links with extremist right-wing elements of the Syrian army, who ultimately carried out the coup.
  30. ^ Dionisi, D, J (2005) American Hiroshima: The reasons why and a call to strengthen America's Democracy, Canada: Trafford Publishing, ISBN 1-4120-4421-9, pp 30–38
  31. ^ a b Immerman, R. H., Theoharis, A. G. (2006) The Central Intelligence Agency: Security under Scrutiny U.S.: Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-33282-7, p. 314
  32. ^ "Mohammad Mosaddeq and the 1953 Coup in Iran". National Security Archive. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  33. ^ a b Dionisi, D, J (2005) American Hiroshima: The reasons why and a call to strengthen America's Democracy, Canada: Trafford Publishing, ISBN 1-4120-4421-9, p. 40
  34. ^ Lesch, D, W(ed.) (2003) The Middle East and the United States: A Historical and Political Reassessment U.S.: Westview Press, p. 94
  35. ^ Bleckman B, M, Kaplan, S, S (1978) Force without War: U.S. Armed Forces As a Political Instrument U.S.: The Brookings Institution p 249
  36. ^ Attie, C. C. (2004) Struggle in the Levant, Kings Lynn: The Centre for Lebanese Studies, Oxford p 1
  37. ^ Attie, Struggle in the Levant, p. 109
  38. ^ Attie, Struggle in the Levant, p. 110
  39. ^ Gettleman, M, E, Schaar, S (2003) The Middle East and Islamic World Reader, U.S.: Grove Press p. 248
  40. ^ Hahn, Peter L. (March 2006). "Securing the Middle East: The Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957". Presidential Studies Quarterly. 36 (1): 38–47. doi:10.1111/j.1741-5705.2006.00285.x.
  41. ^ Patterson, p. 423.
  42. ^ Herring 2008, pp. 678–679.
  43. ^ Pach & Richardson, pp. 191–192.
  44. ^ Douglas Little, "His finest hour? Eisenhower, Lebanon, and the 1958 Middle East crisis." Diplomatic History 20.1 (1996): 27-54.
  45. ^ Stephen Ambrose, The Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy, 1938–1980 (1980) p. 463
  46. ^ Eisenhower, White House Years, vol. 2: Waging Peace 1956–1961 (1965) p. 268
  47. ^ R. Louis Owen, A Revolutionary year: The Middle East in 1958 (2002) p. 2
  48. ^ Watson, J. B. (1981) Success in Twentieth century World Affairs since 1919 Norwich: John Murray (Publishers) Ltd p. 301
  49. ^ King, Ralph (1987). The Iran-Iraq War: The Political Implications. London: Adelphi Papers. pp. 20–46. ISBN 0860791092.
  50. ^ . 24 August 2004. Archived from the original on 24 August 2004. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  51. ^ Aid, Shane Harris and Matthew M. "Exclusive: CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  52. ^ admin (3 December 2018). "U.S. Involvement in the 1980s Iran-Iraq War: America's Haphazard Extension of Gulf Insecurity". The Yale Review of International Studies. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  53. ^ Tirman, John (2009). "Diplomacy, terrorism, and national narratives in the United States–Iran relationship". Critical Studies on Terrorism. 2 (3): 527–539.
  54. ^ Brands, Hal (2012). "Saddam Hussein, the United States, and the Invasion of Iran: Was there a Green Light?". Cold War History. 12 (2): 319–343. doi:10.1080/14682745.2011.564612. S2CID 154354622 – via Taylor & Francis.
  55. ^ "US-Iran relations: A brief history". BBC News. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  56. ^ a b Hersh, Seymour M. (8 December 1991). "The Iran Pipeline: A Hidden Chapter/A special report.; U.S. Said to Have Allowed Israel to Sell Arms to Iran". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  57. ^ Butterfield, Fox (27 November 1988). "Arms for Hostages -- Plain and Simple". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  58. ^ "The Iran-Contra Affair 20 Years On". nsarchive2.gwu.edu. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  59. ^ "CONFRONTATION IN THE GULF; Excerpts From Iraqi Document on Meeting With U.S. Envoy". The New York Times. 23 September 1990. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  60. ^ Council, UN Security (1993). "Report of the Security Council, 16 June 1990-15 June 1991". Report of the Security Council. ISSN 0082-8238.
  61. ^ "Iraq Offers Deal To Quit Kuwait U.S. Rejects It, But Stays 'Interested'". Scribd. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  62. ^ "Résolutions adoptées par le Conseil de sécurité en 1990 | Conseil de sécurité des Nations Unies". www.un.org. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  63. ^ "Operation DESERT STORM | U.S. Army Center of Military History". history.army.mil. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  64. ^ "How strained are US-Saudi relations?". BBC News. 20 April 2016.
  65. ^ "Old friends US and Saudi Arabia feel the rift growing, seek new partners". Asia Times. 2 May 2016.
  66. ^ "Gulf allies and 'Army of Conquest". Al-Ahram Weekly. 28 May 2015.
  67. ^ Madawi Al-Rasheed (2010). A History of Saudi Arabia. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-521-74754-7.
  68. ^ Gordon, Michael R. (8 August 1990). "BUSH SENDS U.S. FORCE TO SAUDI ARABIA AS KINGDOM AGREES TO CONFRONT IRAQ; Bush's Aim's: Deter Attack, Send a Signal". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  69. ^ al-Mujahed, Ali; DeYoung, Karen (25 March 2015). "Saudi Arabia launches air attacks in Yemen". The Washington Post.
  70. ^ "Saudi airstrikes in Yemen violate laws of war, rights group says". mcclatchydc. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  71. ^ Beauchamp, Zack (1 November 2016). "10,000 Yemeni children have died of preventable diseases since the Saudi war began". Vox. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  72. ^ "Senators vote to end US backing for Saudi war on Yemen". BBC News. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  73. ^ "'Not our war': Gulf states resist pressure to raise oil output". France 24. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  74. ^ "Yemen | U.S. Agency for International Development". www.usaid.gov. 18 April 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  75. ^ a b Almadhagi, Ahmed Noman Kassim (1996). Yemen and the United States: A study of a Small Power and Super-State Relationship 1962-1994. London: Tauris Academic Studies. pp. 140–142. ISBN 1850437726.
  76. ^ "Yemen 2019 | Financial Tracking Service". fts.unocha.org. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  77. ^ Devi, Sharmila (9 December 2017). "Millions in need of humanitarian assistance in Yemen". The Lancet. 390 (10112): e50. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(17)33250-6. ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 29231839. S2CID 26810499.
  78. ^ Holliday, Joseph (2011). (PDF). Institute for the Study of War: 7–29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2015.
  79. ^ Baker, Peter; Cooper, Helene; Sanger, David E. (30 October 2015). "Obama Sends Special Operations Forces to Help Fight ISIS in Syria". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  80. ^ . 31 October 2016. Archived from the original on 31 October 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  81. ^ "Analysis | Trump's indifferent to new fighting in Syria: 'There's a lot of sand there that they can play with'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  82. ^ Ball, Carlos A. (19 August 2021), "The Presidency During the Trump Era and Beyond", Principles Matter, Oxford University Press, pp. 147–182, doi:10.1093/oso/9780197584484.003.0005, ISBN 978-0-19-758448-4, retrieved 17 May 2022
  83. ^ Schmitt, Eric; Cooper, Helene (30 October 2019). "Hundreds of U.S. Troops Leaving, and Also Arriving in, Syria". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  84. ^ "US deploys additional troops and armoured vehicles to eastern Syria". the Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 19 September 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  85. ^ "Department of Defense Press Briefing by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter". Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  86. ^ "U.S. general denies involvement in Turkish coup attempt". Reuters. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  87. ^ Cyprus although a member of the European Union, is sometimes categorized as a Middle Eastern due to its geographical location
  88. ^ "Trump ends CIA arms support for anti-Assad Syria rebels". Reuters. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  89. ^ Gall, Carlotta; Ewing, Jack (10 August 2018). "Tensions Between Turkey and U.S. Soar as Trump Orders New Sanctions". New York Times.
  90. ^ Gall, Carlotta (4 August 2018). "Turkey's Erdogan Orders Retaliatory Sanctions Against American Officials". The New York Times.
  91. ^ "The fate of Iraq-US relations under PM Sudani". Amwaj media. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  92. ^ "Afghanistan: Background and U.S. Policy". CRS Reports. 25 July 2023.
  93. ^ . 12 July 2006. Archived from the original on 12 July 2006.
  94. ^ Tony Karon; Stewart Stogel (4 May 2001). . Time. Archived from the original on 6 May 2001. Retrieved 22 December 2009.

Further reading edit

  • Baxter, Kylie, and Shahram Akbarzadeh. US foreign policy in the Middle East: The roots of anti-Americanism (Routledge, 2012)
  • Bunch, Clea. "Reagan and the Middle East." in Andrew L. Johns, ed., A Companion to Ronald Reagan (2015) pp: 453–468. online
  • Cramer, Jane K., and A. Trevor Thrall, eds. Why Did the United States Invade Iraq? (Routledge, 2013)
  • Fawcett, Louise, ed. International relations of the Middle East (3rd ed. Oxford UP, 2016) full text online[dead link]
  • Freedman, Lawrence. A Choice of Enemies: America Confronts the Middle East (Public Affairs, 2009) excerpt
  • Gause III, F. Gregory. "“Hegemony” Compared: Great Britain and the United States in the Middle East." Security Studies 28.3 (2019): 565-587. “Hegemony” Compared: Great Britain and the United States in the Middle East
  • Hemmer, Christopher. Which lessons matter?: American foreign policy decision making in the Middle East, 1979-1987 (SUNY Press, 2012)
  • Jacobs, Matthew F. Imagining the Middle East: The Building of an American Foreign Policy, 1918-1967 (2011)
  • Kelley, Stephen A. "Getting to War: American Security Policy in the Persian Gulf, 1969-1991." (Naval Postgraduate School Monterey United States, 2020) online.
  • Laqueur, Walter. The Struggle for the Middle East: The Soviet Union and the Middle East 1958-70 (1972) online
  • Lesch, David W. and Mark L. Haas, eds. The Middle East and the United States: History, Politics, and Ideologies (6th ed, 2018) excerpt
  • Little, Douglas. "His finest hour? Eisenhower, Lebanon, and the 1958 Middle East crisis." Diplomatic History 20.1 (1996): 27–54. online
  • O'Sullivan, Christopher D. FDR and the End of Empire: The Origins of American Power in the Middle East (2012)
  • Petersen, Tore. Anglo-American Policy toward the Persian Gulf, 1978–1985: Power, Influence and Restraint (Sussex Academic Press, 2015)
  • Pillar, Paul R. Intelligence and US Foreign Policy: Iraq, 9/11, and Misguided Reform (Columbia UP, 2014) 432p
  • Pollack, Kenneth. Unthinkable: Iran, the bomb, and American strategy (2014)
  • Wahlrab, Amentahru, and Michael J. McNeal, eds. US approaches to the Arab uprisings: International relations and democracy promotion (Bloomsbury, 2017).
  • Wight, David M. Oil Money: Middle East Petrodollars and the Transformation of US Empire, 1967-1988 (Cornell University Press, 2021) online review

External links edit

  • US State Department Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
  • from the
  • Establishment of U.S. Consuls and Colonies in the Levant 6 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine – Shapell Manuscript Foundation

May 04, 2024
united, states, foreign, policy, middle, east, roots, early, 19th, century, tripolitan, that, occurred, shortly, after, 1776, establishment, united, states, independent, sovereign, state, became, much, more, expansive, aftermath, world, with, goal, preventing,. United States foreign policy in the Middle East has its roots in the early 19th century Tripolitan War that occurred shortly after the 1776 establishment of the United States as an independent sovereign state but became much more expansive in the aftermath of World War II With the goal of preventing the Soviet Union from gaining influence in the region during the Cold War American foreign policy saw the deliverance of extensive support in various forms to anti communist and anti Soviet regimes among the top priorities for the U S with regards to this goal was its support for the State of Israel against its Soviet backed neighbouring Arab countries during the peak of the Arab Israeli conflict The U S also came to replace the United Kingdom as the main security patron for Saudi Arabia as well as the other Arab states of the Persian Gulf in the 1960s and 1970s in order to ensure among other goals a stable flow of oil from the Persian Gulf 1 As of 2023 update the U S has diplomatic relations with every country in the Middle East except for Iran with whom relations were severed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and Syria with whom relations were suspended in 2012 following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War U S Marines on guard duty in April 2003 near a burning oil well in the Rumaila oil field of Basra Iraq following the 2003 U S invasion and during the Iraq War American influence in the Greater Middle East has reduced in recent years most significantly since the Arab Spring 2 yet is still substantial 3 Currently stated priorities of the U S government in the Middle East include resolving the Israeli Palestinian conflict and limiting the spread of weapons of mass destruction 4 among regional states particularly Iran Contents 1 History 2 Israel 2 1 Formation of Israel 1948 2 2 Israel Hamas War 2023 3 Syrian coup d etat 1949 4 Mosaddeq and the Shah of Iran 1953 5 Suez Crisis 1956 5 1 Eisenhower Doctrine 5 2 Jordan 6 Six Day War 1967 and Black September 1970 7 Iran Iraq War 1980 1988 7 1 Support for Iraq 7 2 Support for Iran 8 Kuwait and the Gulf War 1991 9 Saudi Arabia 9 1 US Saudi Arabia Arm deal 10 Afghanistan 11 Iraqi conflict 12 Libya 2011 present 13 Yemen 13 1 20th century 13 2 21st century 14 Syria 2011 present 15 Turkey 15 1 Coup attempt 2016 16 Bilateral relations in the Greater Middle East 16 1 American allies 16 2 Hostile relations with America 17 Criticism 18 See also 19 Notes 20 References 21 Further reading 22 External linksHistory edit nbsp U S naval officer Stephen Decatur boarding a Tripolitan gunboat during the First Barbary War 1804 The United States relationship with the Middle East prior to World War I was limited although commercial ties existed even in the early 19th century The U S engaged in a military conflict with Ottoman Tripolitania from 1801 to 1805 during the Tripolitan War regarding tributary payment which president Thomas Jefferson refused to pay President Andrew Jackson established formal ties with the Sultan of Muscat and Oman in 1833 The Sultan saw the U S as a potential balance to Britain s overwhelming regional influence Commercial relations opened between the U S and Persia in 1857 after Britain persuaded the Persian government not to ratify a similar agreement in 1851 5 Britain and France took control of most of the former Ottoman Empire after defeating it in World War I They held mandates from the League of Nations The United States refused to take any mandates in the region and was popular and respected throughout the Middle East 6 Indeed Americans were seen as good people untainted by the selfishness and duplicity associated with the Europeans 7 American Christian missionaries brought modern medicine and set up educational institutions all over the Middle East as an adjunct to their religious proselytizing Moreover the United States had provided the Middle East with highly skilled petroleum engineers 8 Thus there were some connections made between the United States and the Middle East before the Second World War Other examples of cooperation between the U S and the Middle East are the Red Line Agreement signed in 1928 and the Anglo American Petroleum Agreement signed in 1944 Both of these agreements were legally binding and reflected an American interest in control of Middle Eastern energy resources mainly oil and moreover reflected an American security imperative to prevent the re emergence of a powerful regional rival 9 The Red Line Agreement had been part of a network of agreements made in the 1920s to restrict the supply of petroleum and ensure that the major mostly American companies could control oil prices on world markets 10 The Red Line agreement governed the development of Middle East oil for the next two decades The Anglo American Petroleum Agreement of 1944 was based on negotiations between the United States and Britain over the control of Middle Eastern oil Below is shown what the American President Franklin D Roosevelt had in mind for a British Ambassador in 1944 Persian oil is yours We share the oil of Iraq and Kuwait As for Saudi Arabian oil it s ours 11 nbsp King Ibn Saud converses with President Franklin D Roosevelt on board the USS Quincy in February 1945 On August 8 1944 the Anglo American Petroleum Agreement was signed dividing Middle Eastern oil between the United States and Britain Consequently political scholar Fred H Lawson remarks that by mid 1944 U S officials had buttressed their country s position on the peninsula by concluding an Anglo American Petroleum Agreement that protected all valid concession contracts and lawfully acquired rights belonging to the signatories and established a principle of equal opportunity in those areas where no concession had yet been assigned 12 Furthermore political scholar Irvine Anderson summarizes American interests in the Middle East in the late 19th century and the early 20th century noting that the most significant event of the period was the transition of the United States from the position of net exporter to one of net importer of petroleum 13 By the end of the Second World War Washington had come to consider the Middle East region as the most strategically important area of the world 14 and one of the greatest material prizes in world history argues Noam Chomsky 14 For that reason it was not until around the period of World War II that America became directly involved in the Middle East region At this time the region was going through great social economic and political changes and as a result internally the Middle East was in turmoil Politically the Middle East was experiencing an upsurge in the popularity of nationalistic politics and an increase in the number of nationalistic political groups across the region which was causing great trouble for the English and French colonial powers Historian Jack Watson explains that Europeans could not hold these lands indefinitely in the face of Arab nationalism 15 Watson then continues stating that by the end of 1946 Palestine was the last remaining mandate but it posed a major problem 16 In truth this nationalistic political trend clashed with American interests in the Middle East which were as Middle East scholar Louise Fawcett argues about the Soviet Union access to oil and the project for a Jewish state in Palestine 17 Hence Arabist Ambassador Raymond Hare described the Second World War as the great divide in United States relationship with the Middle East because these three interests would later serve as a backdrop and reasoning for a great deal of American interventions in the Middle East and thus also come to be the cause of several future conflicts between the United States amp the Middle East 7 As of 2024 the United States has approximately 45 000 troops in the region including approximately 2 500 troops stationed in Iraq 900 troops stationed in Syria and others stationed in Bahrain Djibouti Jordan Kuwait Qatar and the United Arab Emirates soldiers at the country s base About 15 000 of these troops were deployed to the region as part of a temporary surge after October 7 2023 with the United States retaining about 30 000 troops until then The troops are a fraction of the number the U S deployed in 2010 when it had more than 100 000 troops in Iraq about 70 000 in Afghanistan and many more in neighboring countries After 2015 the U S military presence in Iraq declined sharply and all U S troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan in 2021 18 Israel editMain article Israel United States relations See also Palestine United States relations Israel lobby in the United States and Israel United States military relations nbsp US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv Israel 18 October 2023 Israel is designated by the United States as a major non NATO ally Israel United States relations are an essential factor in the United States foreign policy in the Middle East Congress has placed significant importance on the maintenance of a close relationship with Israel Analysts maintain that Israel is a strategic ally for the United States and that relations with the former will strengthen the latter s influence in the Middle East 19 Former US senator Jesse Helms argued that the military foothold offered by Israel in the region alone justified the expense of American military aid He referred to Israel as America s aircraft carrier in the Middle East 20 21 Formation of Israel 1948 edit Main article 1948 Arab Israeli War In 1947 the U S and the Truman administration under domestic political pressure pushed for a solution and resolution on the Arab Israeli conflict and in May 1948 the new state of Israel came into existence This process was not without its fights and loss of lives Nevertheless the first state to extend diplomatic recognition to Israel was the United States the Soviet Union and several Western nations quickly followed suit No Arab state however recognized Israel 22 The United States denounced the Arab invasion of former Mandatory Palestine that took place shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence 23 Israel Hamas War 2023 edit Main article United States support for Israel in the Israel Hamas war Following the Hamas led attack on Israel on October 7 2023 and the subsequent Israel Hamas war the Biden administration requested 14 billion in aid from congress to provide military aid for Israel Congress later approved a bill on February 13 2024 the legislation included 19 3 billion to support military operations 14 1bn air defense 4bn and the Iron Beam defense system 1 2bn The legislation also included 9 2 billion in humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza and the West Bank along with those caught in warzones across the globe 24 As a result of the on going support of Israel in the face of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza the United States and President Joe Biden have faced scrutiny and backlash from NGOs such as Human Rights Watch Doctors Without Borders and the Center for Constitutional Rights It has been said by some academics that the US is complicit in the alleged genocide of Palestinians committed by Israel The CCR has filed a lawsuit against Biden for allegedly failing in his duty under international and US laws to prevent Israel committing genocide in Gaza 25 Syrian coup d etat 1949 editMain article Syria United States relations Syria became an independent republic in 1946 but the March 1949 Syrian coup d etat led by Army Chief of Staff Husni al Za im ended the initial period of civilian rule Za im met at least six times with CIA operatives in the months prior to the coup to discuss his plan to seize power Za im requested American funding or personnel but it is not known whether this assistance was provided Once in power Za im made several key decisions that benefitted the United States He approved the Trans Arabian Pipeline TAPLINE an American project designed to transport Saudi Arabian oil to Mediterranean ports Construction of TAPLINE had been delayed due to Syrian intransigence Za im also improved relations with two American allies in the region Israel and Turkey He signed an armistice with Israel formally ending the 1948 Arab Israeli War and he renounced Syrian claims to Hatay Province a major source of dispute between Syria and Turkey Za im also cracked down on local communists However Za im s regime was short lived He was overthrown in August just four and a half months after seizing power 26 27 28 29 Mosaddeq and the Shah of Iran 1953 editMain article Iran United States relations See also 1953 Iranian coup d etat and Abadan Crisis nbsp Supporters of Mohammed Mosaddeq in 1952 Opposed to foreign intervention in Iran and a keen nationalist Mohammed Mosaddeq became the prime minister of Iran in 1951 Thus when Mosaddeq was elected he chose to nationalize the Iranian oil industry where previously British holdings had generated great profits for Britain through the Anglo Iranian Oil Company Furthermore prior to the nationalization of Iranian oil Mosaddeq had also cut all diplomatic ties with Britain 30 The Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was opposed to the nationalization of Iranian oil as he feared this would result in an oil embargo which would destroy Iran s economy and thus the Shah was very concerned with the effect of Mosaddeq s policies on Iran Equally worried were workers in the Iranian oil industry when they experienced the economic effect of the sanctions on Iranian oil exports which Mosaddeq s policies had resulted in and riots were happening across Iran 31 Thus Mohammad Reza Pahlavi asked Mosaddeq to resign as was the Shah s constitutional right but Mosaddeq refused which resulted in national uprisings The Shah fearing for his personal security fled the country but nominated General Fazlollah Zahedi as the new Prime Minister Although General Fazlollah Zahedi was a nationalist he did not agree with the Mosaddeq s lenient attitude towards the communist Tudeh party which the United States had also become increasingly concerned with fearing Soviet influence spreading in the Middle East Therefore in late 1952 the British government asked the U S administration for help with the removal of Mohammed Mosaddeq President Harry S Truman thought Mossadeq was a valuable bulwark against Soviet influence 32 However Truman left office in January 1953 and the new administration of Dwight Eisenhower shared British concern over Mossadeq Allen Dulles the director of the CIA approved one million dollars on April 4 1953 to be used in any way that would bring about the fall of Mossadegh 33 Consequently after a failed attempt on August 15 on August 19 1953 General Fazlollah Zahedi succeeded with the help of the United States and Britain and Mossadegh was overthrown The CIA covertly funneled five million dollars to General Zahedi s regime on August 21 1953 33 This CIA operation often referred to as Operation Ajax and led by CIA officer Kermit Roosevelt Jr ensured the return of the Shah on August 22 1953 31 Suez Crisis 1956 editMain articles Suez Crisis and Foreign policy of the Dwight D Eisenhower administration source source source source track President Eisenhower press conference about the crisis 9 August 1956 Although accepting large sums of military aid from the United States in 1954 by 1956 Egyptian leader Nasser had grown tired of the American influence in the country The involvement that the U S would take in Egyptian business and politics in return for aid Nasser thought smacked of colonialism 34 Indeed as political scholar B M Bleckman argued in 1978 Nasser had ambivalent feelings toward the United States From 1952 to 1954 he was on close terms with U S officials and was viewed in Washington as a promising moderate Arab leader The conclusion of an arms deal with the USSR in 1955 however had cooled the relationship between Cairo and Washington considerably and the Dulles Eisenhower decision to withdraw the offer to finance the Aswan High Dam in mid 1956 was a further blow to the chances of maintaining friendly ties Eisenhower s stand against the British French and Israeli attack on Egypt in October 1956 created a momentary sense of gratitude on the part of Nasser but the subsequent development of the Eisenhower Doctrine so clearly aimed at containing Nasserism undermined what little goodwill existed toward the United States in Cairo 35 The Suez Crisis of 1956 marked the demise of British power and its gradual replacement by the USA as the dominant power in the Middle East 36 The Eisenhower Doctrine became a manifestation of this process The general objective of the Eisenhower Doctrine like that of the Truman Doctrine formulated ten years earlier was the containment of Soviet expansion 37 Furthermore when the Doctrine was finalized on March 9 1957 it essentially gave the president the latitude to intervene militarily in the Middle East without having to resort to Congress 38 indeed as Middle East scholar Irene L Gerdzier explains that with the Eisenhower Doctrine the United States emerged as the uncontested Western power in the Middle East 39 Eisenhower Doctrine edit Main article Eisenhower Doctrine nbsp Nasser and Eisenhower in New York 1960 In response to the power vacuum in the Middle East following the Suez Crisis the Eisenhower administration developed a new policy designed to stabilize the region against Soviet threats or internal turmoil Given the collapse of British prestige and the rise of Soviet interest in the region the president informed Congress on January 5 1957 that it was essential for the U S to accept new responsibilities for the security of the Middle East Under the policy known as the Eisenhower Doctrine any Middle Eastern country could request American economic assistance or aid from U S military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression Though Eisenhower found it difficult to convince leading Arab states or Israel to endorse the doctrine he applied the new doctrine by dispensing economic aid to shore up the Kingdom of Jordan encouraging Syria s neighbors to consider military operations against it and sending U S troops into Lebanon to prevent a radical revolution from sweeping over that country 40 The troops sent to Lebanon never saw any fighting but the deployment marked the only time during Eisenhower s presidency when U S troops were sent abroad into a potential combat situation 41 Though U S aid helped Lebanon and Jordan avoid revolution the Eisenhower doctrine enhanced Nasser s prestige as the preeminent Arab nationalist Partly as a result of the bungled U S intervention in Syria Nasser established the short lived United Arab Republic a political union between Egypt and Syria 42 The U S also lost a sympathetic Middle Eastern government due to the 1958 Iraqi coup d etat which saw King Faisal I replaced by General Abd al Karim Qasim as the leader of Iraq 43 Jordan edit Main article Jordan United States relations Meanwhile in Jordan nationalistic anti government rioting broke out and the United States decided to send a battalion of marines to nearby Lebanon prepared to intervene in Jordan later that year Douglas Little argues that Washington s decision to use the military resulted from a determination to support a beleaguered conservative pro Western regime in Lebanon repel Nasser s pan Arabism and limit Soviet influence in the oil rich region However Little concludes that the unnecessary American action brought negative long term consequences notably the undermining of Lebanon s fragile multi ethnic political coalition and the alienation of Arab nationalism throughout the region 44 To keep the pro American King Hussein of Jordan in power the CIA sent millions of dollars a year of subsidies In the mid 1950s the U S supported allies in Lebanon Iraq Turkey and Saudi Arabia and sent fleets to be near Syria 45 However 1958 was to become a difficult year in U S foreign policy in 1958 Syria and Egypt were merged into the United Arab Republic anti American and anti government revolts started occurring in Lebanon causing the Lebanese president Chamoun to ask America for help and the very pro American King Feisal the 2nd of Iraq was overthrown by a group of nationalistic military officers 46 It was quite commonly believed that Nasser stirred up the unrest in Lebanon and perhaps had helped to plan the Iraqi revolution 47 Six Day War 1967 and Black September 1970 editMain article Black September In June 1967 Israel fought with Egypt Jordan and Syria in the Six Day War As a result of the war Israel captured the West Bank Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula The U S supported Israel with weapons and continued to support Israel financially throughout the 1970s On September 17 1970 with U S and Israeli help Jordanian troops attacked PLO guerrilla camps while Jordan s U S supplied air force dropped napalm from above The U S deployed the aircraft carrier Independence and six destroyers off the coast of Lebanon and readied troops in Turkey to support the assault The American interventions in the years before the Iranian revolution have all proven to be based in part on economic considerations but more so have been influenced and led by the international Cold War context 48 Iran Iraq War 1980 1988 editOn 22 September 1980 Saddam Hussein s Iraq attacked Ayatollah Khomeini ruled Iran starting bombing 10 military airfields 49 Support for Iraq edit Main article United States support for Iraq during the Iran Iraq War source source source source Donald Rumsfeld meets Saddam Hussein on 19 20 December 1983 Ted Koppel s ABC News broadcast of July 1992 points out the US cooperation with Iraq by sending money armaments dual use technology and if necessary the provision of emergency action plans against Iran 50 According to revealed CIA files the United States supported Hussein s Iraq even to the point of a US awareness of Iraqi use of chemical armaments This violated the 1925 Geneva Protocol which Iraq did not approve Moreover the US Defense Intelligence Agency provided Iraq with satellite positions of Iranian troops to help keep track of the enemies 51 American position in the war played a secretly but unambiguously pro Iraq support 52 A few scholars have argued the US gave a green light to Hussein s attack on Iran 53 Yet considering now available US and Iraqi papers the green light hypothesis is more a myth than reality US did not provide an initial encouragement to let the war begin as well as Hussein s attack was independent of the US 54 See also Iraq United States relations Support for Iran edit See also Iran Contra affair and Israel s role in the Iran Iraq warUS Iran relations drastically changed since the Iranian 1979 revolution It marked the fall of the Shah and its closeness with the Western world and the takeover of Khomeini with a return to Islamic law In 1979 the US Embassy in Teheran was caught by protesters and American civilians were taken hostages 55 In 1980 the US changed policy to allow Israel to sell American armament to Iran during the war The deal between US and Israel was coordinated by the State Department Counselor McFarlane with US Secretary of State Alexander Haig Jr and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin agreeing to a 6 to 18 months period weapons provision 56 This support to Iran was first explained as a way to have back the American hostages Yet the hostages were delivered before the US supply of weapons to Iran 57 In addition this armament provision lasts for more than the established period 56 Indeed this was later known as the Iran Contra Affair publicly divulgated in November 1985 US supplied weapons to Iran through Israel and the profit gained went to finance the Contra rebels opponents to the Nicaragua Sandinista Front 58 Kuwait and the Gulf War 1991 editMain article Gulf War Further information Coalition of the Gulf War and Iraqi invasion of KuwaitThe Gulf War in 1991 opposed a coalition of 35 countries led by the United States against Iraq after it invades Kuwait Iraq had been an ally of the Soviet Union during the Cold War resulting in little relation with the US After Iraq threatened to invade Kuwait the US said they would also protect their allies in the region against Iraq s invasion 59 After the invasion in 1990 economic sanctions are implemented when the US request a meeting of the United Nations Security Council and adopt Resolution 660 60 The US rejected the proposal of the Iraqi army to leave Kuwait if a solution for Palestine is found 61 Military means are employed by the US in 1991 as Resolution 678 allows 62 Also the coalition is created with 73 of the armed force being American The United States armed forces lead many attacks on the Iraqi army in several battles through air strikes and land battles 63 Saudi Arabia editMain article Saudi Arabia United States relations See also Saudi Arabia lobby in the United States nbsp President Obama with King Salman of Saudi Arabia Riyadh 27 January 2015 Saudi Arabia and the United States are strategic allies 64 65 66 but relations with the U S became strained following September 11 attacks 67 Foreign policies of the US in Saudi Arabia started with the Quincy Agreement in 1945 in which the US agreed to provide Saudi Arabia with military security in exchange for secure access to supplies of oil Military aid was provided to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War and almost 500 000 soldiers were sent to protect Saudi Arabia from Iraq 68 In March 2015 President Barack Obama declared that he had authorized U S forces to provide logistical and intelligence support to the Saudis in their military intervention in Yemen establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia 69 The report by Human Rights Watch stated that US made bombs were being used in attacks indiscriminately targeting civilians and violating the laws of war 70 US Saudi Arabia Arm deal edit Main article 2017 United States Saudi Arabia arms deal Both countries have an interest in fighting terrorism and are allies In 2017 an agreement aiming to provide Saudi Arabia with 115 billion of weapons containing tanks combat ships and missile defence systems was announced by President Donald Trump In 2018 the Saudi Government had purchased over 14 5 billion of weapons to the US Also in 2018 the Saudi led coalition fighting terrorism in Yemen bombed a school bus killing 40 children with a bomb provided by the United States Many criticized the United States support for Saudi intervention in Yemen which contributed to the killing of 10 000 children 71 In December 2018 the end of American assistance to Saudi Arabia s war in Yemen in voted by senators 72 The lack of support from the US for the Saudi led coalition interventions in Yemen stained the relationship of the two countries causing Saudi Arabia to refuse the US s request of increasing oil production 73 Afghanistan editMain articles Operation Cyclone War on terror and War in Afghanistan 2001 2021 Iraqi conflict editMain articles Iraq War and American led intervention in Iraq 2014 present Libya 2011 present editMain articles First Libyan Civil War 2011 military intervention in Libya and Second Libyan Civil WarYemen editMain article United States Yemen relations 20th century edit The US established diplomatic relations with Yemen in 1947 when it became a member of the United Nations The Yemen Arab Republic is created in 1962 and recognized by the US the same year In 1967 the US recognize the People s Democratic Republic of Yemen The 20th century s Us policies in Yemen support the unification and are largely concentrated on humanitarian aid and some military operations In the 1990s the US develop a 42 million program in Yemen subsidizing agriculture education and health 74 In return the Yemeni government cooperates with US oil companies 75 US Yemen relationship deteriorates when both take different sides during the Kuwait crisis 75 21st century edit See also United States support for Saudi Arabian led operations in Yemen Foreign involvement in the Yemeni civil war 2014 present and Red Sea crisis nbsp March for Yemen in New York City in August 2020 Al Qaeda s terrorist attacks in the United States have transformed US s policies in Yemen The US has engaged in many military actions against the terrorist group but also humanitarian help and cooperation with other actors Also the Yemeni government improved its cooperation in dismantling the terrorist group with the US government after this event Over the last decades the US has responded to Yemen s humanitarian crisis caused by the war The reported funding in the country from the US has increased this past decade from 115m in 2012 to almost a billion in 2019 It funds sectors like the supply of food security health education and protection 76 But the blockade of access to the country by the Saudi led coalition which has received support from the United States prevents humanitarian aid to be fully applied 77 Military policies in Yemen have increased since the replacement of the previous president Ali Abdullah Saleh by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi far more cooperative in fighting terrorism in Yemen Military policies are characterized by the training of the military by the US forces the supply of weapons but also air strikes The US also concluded an agreement with Saudi Arabia in 2015 which engages the US in supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia for counterterrorist actions in Yemen Syria 2011 present editMain article American led intervention in the Syrian civil war See also Timber Sycamore 2011 saw several anti governmental protests arising in many Arab countries known as the Arab Spring Syria opposed the Assad government through demonstrations which were put down fomenting a civil war 78 US involvement in the Syrian civil war started under the Obama presidency with the involvement of US troops in 2015 79 US troops involvement continued under the Trump presidency although Trump stated on several occasions that he did not want boots on the ground in Syria for much longer asking the army to retire altogether which never happened US continued to lead an alliance of up to 74 countries to fight against ISIS terrorist organization but also with peacekeeping and patrolling of oilfields missions The situation became more complicated in 2019 after Turkey struck an agreement with Russia whose army also got directly involved The US and the Western coalition got involved in multiple fights mostly on the side of the Kurdish led YPG and SDF liberation army causing therefore tensions with Turkey which fundamentally never stopped fighting Kurds in Syria 80 Trump s presidency has not made things any easier for US troops deployed in Syria moving from showing little interest 81 to showing interest in the oilfields located in the North Eastern province of Syria to finally showing signs of appropriating a victory that did not really happen 82 But the situation remains far from clear for the US army in Syria 83 with its presence continuing under the Biden presidency with focus on military operations and airstrikes shifting towards the East to better fight Iran supported militias 84 Turkey editMain article Turkey United States relations nbsp President Joe Biden and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey in July 2023 Coup attempt 2016 edit On 15 July 2016 a coup d etat was attempted in Turkey by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces against state institutions including but not limited to the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan The Turkish government accused the coup leaders of being linked to the Gulen movement which is designated as a terrorist organization by the Republic of Turkey and led by Fethullah Gulen a Turkish businessman and cleric who lives in Pennsylvania United States Erdogan accuses Gulen of being behind the coup a claim that Gulen denies and accused the United States of harboring him President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the head of United States Central Command chief General Joseph Votel 85 of siding with coup plotters after Votel accused the Turkish government of arresting the Pentagon s contacts in Turkey 86 Bilateral relations in the Greater Middle East editAmerican allies edit States nbsp Israel see Israel United States relations Major non NATO ally nbsp Dedication ceremony of the Embassy of the United States in Jerusalem Israel 14 May 2018 nbsp Saudi Arabia see Saudi Arabia United States relations nbsp Turkey see Turkey United States relations NATO member state nbsp Qatar see Qatar United States relations Major non NATO ally nbsp Bahrain see Bahrain United States relations Major non NATO ally nbsp Kuwait see Kuwait United States relations Major non NATO ally nbsp United Arab Emirates see United Arab Emirates United States relations nbsp Jordan see Jordan United States relations Major non NATO ally nbsp Egypt see Egypt United States relations Major non NATO ally nbsp Cyprus see Cyprus United States relations 87 Autonomous region nbsp Iraqi Kurdistan see Iraqi Kurdistan United States relations Factions and organizations nbsp People s Mujahedin of Iran nbsp National Council of Resistance of Iran nbsp Pahlavi Royal Family led by Reza Pahlavi nbsp Syrian Democratic Forces Ex allies nbsp Imperial State of Iran see Iranian Islamic Revolution 1953 Iranian coup d etat nbsp Free Syrian Army see Timber Sycamore American led intervention in the Syrian Civil War a 88 nbsp Islamic Republic of Afghanistan see 2021 Taliban offensive Hostile relations with America edit States nbsp Iran see Iran United States relations after 1979 United States sanctions against Iran nbsp Syria see Syria United States relations nbsp Turkey see Turkey United States relations b 89 90 nbsp Iraq see Iraq United States relations c 91 nbsp Afghanistan see Afghanistan United States relations International relations with the Taliban d 92 Organizations nbsp Al Qaeda nbsp Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps nbsp Hezbollah 93 nbsp Popular Mobilization Forces nbsp Houthi movement nbsp Hamas nbsp Palestinian Islamic Jihad nbsp Islamic State nbsp Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine nbsp Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command Popular Resistance Committees nbsp Kata ib Hezbollah Asa ib Ahl al HaqCriticism editMain article Criticism of United States foreign policy nbsp Protest against U S involvement in the Saudi Arabian led intervention in Yemen March 2018 The U S has been accused by some U N officials of condoning actions by Israel against Palestinians 94 See also edit2023 American Middle East conflict British foreign policy in the Middle East Arab lobby in the United States Dual containment Foreign relations of the Arab League Gulf War United States Middle East economic relations Middle Eastern foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration Mission Accomplished Foreign interventions by the United States Books The Israel Lobby and U S Foreign PolicyNotes edit The Trump administration ends CIA arms support for anti Assad Syria rebels in 2017 Relations between the two have deteriorated since about 2016 following the aftermath of the 2016 Turkish coup attempt Although the two countries still maintain a certain degree of cooperation relations have worsened ever since the end of the War in Iraq Most countries including the United States have not recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan after 2021References edit An Agent Based Model of the Acquisition of U S Client States PDF University of Washington 2003 Jenkins Brian Michael 16 September 2013 Ten Reasons America s Influence Has Fallen in the Middle East Slate Magazine Byman Daniel Bjerg Moller Sara 2016 The United States and the Middle East Interests Risks and Costs In Valentino Suri ed Sustainable Security Rethinking American National Security Strategy pp 263 309 Hunt Jonathan 15 April 2017 How Weapons of Mass Destruction Became Red Lines for America The Atlantic Fain W Taylor 15 June 2008 American Ascendance and British Retreat in the Persian Gulf Region Palgrave Macmillan pp 17 18 ISBN 978 0 230 60151 2 Retrieved 21 March 2014 Fawcett L 2005 The International Relations of the Middle East UK Oxford University Press p 284 a b Fawcett L 2005 The International Relations of the Middle East UK Oxford University Press p 285 Rugh W A 2005 American Encounters with Arabs The Soft Power of U S Public Diplomacy in the Middle East U S Praeger Publishers Inc ISBN 978 0 275 98817 3 pp 25 26 Le Billon P El Khatib F March 2004 From free oil to freedom oil terrorism war and U S Geopolitics in the Persian Gulf Geopolitics Volume 9 Issue 1 p 109 Review Winter 1982 State Power and Industry Influence American Foreign Oil Policy in the 1940s International Organization 36 no 1 p 168 Yergin D 1991 The Prize The Epic quest for Oil Money and Power New York Simon and Schuster p 401 Lawson F H Aug 1989 The Iranian Crisis of 1945 1946 and the Spiral Model of International Conflict International Journal of Middle East Studies Vol 21 No 3 p 310 Irvine Anderson Aramco The United States and Saudi Arabia Princeton University Press 1981 p 36 a b Chomsky Noam January February 2005 Imperial Presidency Canadian Dimension Vol 39 No 1 p 8 Watson J B 1981 Success in Twentieth century World Affairs since 1919 Norwich John Murray Publishers Ltd p 295 Watson J B 1981 Success in Twentieth Century World Affairs since 1919 Norwich John Murray Publishers Ltd p 295 Fawcett L 2005 International Relations of the Middle East UK Oxford University Press p 284 Byman Daniel 12 March 2024 Why the Middle East Still Needs America Foreign Affairs ISSN 0015 7120 Retrieved 14 March 2024 Israeli United States Relations Archived 4 November 2002 at the Wayback Machine Adapted from a report by Clyde R Mark Congressional Research Service Updated 17 October 2002 Top Secret American Military Installations in Israel Jonathanpollard org 28 January 2004 Retrieved 8 November 2015 Helms Jesse January 11 1995 Jesse Helms Setting the Record Straight Middle East Quarterly Interview Vol 2 no 1 Interviewed by Daniel Pipes Patrick Clawson Middle East Forum Retrieved 2018 06 01 McWilliams W C Piotrowski H 6th ed 2005 The World since 1945 A History of International Relations U S Lynne Rienner Publishers p 154 Tucker Spencer C 2008 The Encyclopedia of the Arab Israeli Conflict A Political Social and Military History ABC CLIO p 528 ISBN 978 1 85109 841 5 Archived from the original on 20 March 2023 Retrieved 19 March 2016 What s inside the Senate s 95 billion bill to aid Ukraine and Israel and counter China Associated Press February 13 2024 US rights group sues Biden for alleged failure to prevent genocide in Gaza The Guardian November 13 2023 Douglas Little 1990 Cold War and Covert Action The United States and Syria 1945 1958 Middle East Journal 44 1 1949 1958 Syria Early Experiments in Cover Action Douglas Little Professor Department of History Clark University PDF Retrieved 9 October 2012 Gendzier Irene L 1997 Notes from the Minefield United States Intervention in Lebanon and the Middle East 1945 1958 Columbia University Press p 98 ISBN 9780231140119 Retrieved 13 February 2012 Recent investigation indicates that CIA agents Miles Copeland and Stephen Meade were directly involved in the coup in which Syrian colonel Husni Za im seized power According to the former CIA agent Wilbur Eveland the coup was carried out in order to obtain Syrian ratification of TAPLINE Gerolymatos Andre 2010 Castles Made of Sand A Century of Anglo American Espionage and Intervention in the Middle East Thomas Dunne books MacMillan ISBN 9781429913720 Retrieved 13 February 2012 Miles Copeland formerly a CIA agent has outlined how he and Stephen Meade backed Zaim and American archival sources confirm that it was during this period that Meade established links with extremist right wing elements of the Syrian army who ultimately carried out the coup Dionisi D J 2005 American Hiroshima The reasons why and a call to strengthen America s Democracy Canada Trafford Publishing ISBN 1 4120 4421 9 pp 30 38 a b Immerman R H Theoharis A G 2006 The Central Intelligence Agency Security under Scrutiny U S Greenwood Press ISBN 0 313 33282 7 p 314 Mohammad Mosaddeq and the 1953 Coup in Iran National Security Archive Retrieved 19 February 2014 a b Dionisi D J 2005 American Hiroshima The reasons why and a call to strengthen America s Democracy Canada Trafford Publishing ISBN 1 4120 4421 9 p 40 Lesch D W ed 2003 The Middle East and the United States A Historical and Political Reassessment U S Westview Press p 94 Bleckman B M Kaplan S S 1978 Force without War U S Armed Forces As a Political Instrument U S The Brookings Institution p 249 Attie C C 2004 Struggle in the Levant Kings Lynn The Centre for Lebanese Studies Oxford p 1 Attie Struggle in the Levant p 109 Attie Struggle in the Levant p 110 Gettleman M E Schaar S 2003 The Middle East and Islamic World Reader U S Grove Press p 248 Hahn Peter L March 2006 Securing the Middle East The Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957 Presidential Studies Quarterly 36 1 38 47 doi 10 1111 j 1741 5705 2006 00285 x Patterson p 423 sfn error no target CITEREFPatterson help Herring 2008 pp 678 679 sfn error no target CITEREFHerring2008 help Pach amp Richardson pp 191 192 sfn error no target CITEREFPachRichardson help Douglas Little His finest hour Eisenhower Lebanon and the 1958 Middle East crisis Diplomatic History 20 1 1996 27 54 Stephen Ambrose The Rise to Globalism American Foreign Policy 1938 1980 1980 p 463 Eisenhower White House Years vol 2 Waging Peace 1956 1961 1965 p 268 R Louis Owen A Revolutionary year The Middle East in 1958 2002 p 2 Watson J B 1981 Success in Twentieth century World Affairs since 1919 Norwich John Murray Publishers Ltd p 301 King Ralph 1987 The Iran Iraq War The Political Implications London Adelphi Papers pp 20 46 ISBN 0860791092 Iran Air Flight 655 The USS Vincennes Public War Secret War ABC Nightline July 1 1992 24 August 2004 Archived from the original on 24 August 2004 Retrieved 17 May 2022 Aid Shane Harris and Matthew M Exclusive CIA Files Prove America Helped Saddam as He Gassed Iran Foreign Policy Retrieved 17 May 2022 admin 3 December 2018 U S Involvement in the 1980s Iran Iraq War America s Haphazard Extension of Gulf Insecurity The Yale Review of International Studies Retrieved 17 May 2022 Tirman John 2009 Diplomacy terrorism and national narratives in the United States Iran relationship Critical Studies on Terrorism 2 3 527 539 Brands Hal 2012 Saddam Hussein the United States and the Invasion of Iran Was there a Green Light Cold War History 12 2 319 343 doi 10 1080 14682745 2011 564612 S2CID 154354622 via Taylor amp Francis US Iran relations A brief history BBC News 6 January 2020 Retrieved 17 May 2022 a b Hersh Seymour M 8 December 1991 The Iran Pipeline A Hidden Chapter A special report U S Said to Have Allowed Israel to Sell Arms to Iran The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 17 May 2022 Butterfield Fox 27 November 1988 Arms for Hostages Plain and Simple The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 17 May 2022 The Iran Contra Affair 20 Years On nsarchive2 gwu edu Retrieved 17 May 2022 CONFRONTATION IN THE GULF Excerpts From Iraqi Document on Meeting With U S Envoy The New York Times 23 September 1990 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 17 May 2022 Council UN Security 1993 Report of the Security Council 16 June 1990 15 June 1991 Report of the Security Council ISSN 0082 8238 Iraq Offers Deal To Quit Kuwait U S Rejects It But Stays Interested Scribd Retrieved 17 May 2022 Resolutions adoptees par le Conseil de securite en 1990 Conseil de securite des Nations Unies www un org Retrieved 17 May 2022 Operation DESERT STORM U S Army Center of Military History history army mil Retrieved 17 May 2022 How strained are US Saudi relations BBC News 20 April 2016 Old friends US and Saudi Arabia feel the rift growing seek new partners Asia Times 2 May 2016 Gulf allies and Army of Conquest Al Ahram Weekly 28 May 2015 Madawi Al Rasheed 2010 A History of Saudi Arabia p 233 ISBN 978 0 521 74754 7 Gordon Michael R 8 August 1990 BUSH SENDS U S FORCE TO SAUDI ARABIA AS KINGDOM AGREES TO CONFRONT IRAQ Bush s Aim s Deter Attack Send a Signal The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 17 May 2022 al Mujahed Ali DeYoung Karen 25 March 2015 Saudi Arabia launches air attacks in Yemen The Washington Post Saudi airstrikes in Yemen violate laws of war rights group says mcclatchydc Retrieved 13 July 2015 Beauchamp Zack 1 November 2016 10 000 Yemeni children have died of preventable diseases since the Saudi war began Vox Retrieved 17 May 2022 Senators vote to end US backing for Saudi war on Yemen BBC News 14 December 2018 Retrieved 17 May 2022 Not our war Gulf states resist pressure to raise oil output France 24 3 March 2022 Retrieved 17 May 2022 Yemen U S Agency for International Development www usaid gov 18 April 2022 Retrieved 17 May 2022 a b Almadhagi Ahmed Noman Kassim 1996 Yemen and the United States A study of a Small Power and Super State Relationship 1962 1994 London Tauris Academic Studies pp 140 142 ISBN 1850437726 Yemen 2019 Financial Tracking Service fts unocha org Retrieved 17 May 2022 Devi Sharmila 9 December 2017 Millions in need of humanitarian assistance in Yemen The Lancet 390 10112 e50 doi 10 1016 S0140 6736 17 33250 6 ISSN 0140 6736 PMID 29231839 S2CID 26810499 Holliday Joseph 2011 The Struggle for Syria in 2011 PDF Institute for the Study of War 7 29 Archived from the original PDF on 28 January 2015 Baker Peter Cooper Helene Sanger David E 30 October 2015 Obama Sends Special Operations Forces to Help Fight ISIS in Syria The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 17 May 2022 US sending arms to Kurdish led SDF in Syria Turkey s Erdogan outraged ARA News 31 October 2016 Archived from the original on 31 October 2016 Retrieved 17 May 2022 Analysis Trump s indifferent to new fighting in Syria There s a lot of sand there that they can play with Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved 17 May 2022 Ball Carlos A 19 August 2021 The Presidency During the Trump Era and Beyond Principles Matter Oxford University Press pp 147 182 doi 10 1093 oso 9780197584484 003 0005 ISBN 978 0 19 758448 4 retrieved 17 May 2022 Schmitt Eric Cooper Helene 30 October 2019 Hundreds of U S Troops Leaving and Also Arriving in Syria The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 17 May 2022 US deploys additional troops and armoured vehicles to eastern Syria the Guardian Agence France Presse 19 September 2020 Retrieved 17 May 2022 Department of Defense Press Briefing by Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Retrieved 14 September 2016 U S general denies involvement in Turkish coup attempt Reuters 29 July 2016 Retrieved 14 September 2016 Cyprus although a member of the European Union is sometimes categorized as a Middle Eastern due to its geographical location Trump ends CIA arms support for anti Assad Syria rebels Reuters Retrieved 19 July 2017 Gall Carlotta Ewing Jack 10 August 2018 Tensions Between Turkey and U S Soar as Trump Orders New Sanctions New York Times Gall Carlotta 4 August 2018 Turkey s Erdogan Orders Retaliatory Sanctions Against American Officials The New York Times The fate of Iraq US relations under PM Sudani Amwaj media Retrieved 27 July 2023 Afghanistan Background and U S Policy CRS Reports 25 July 2023 Foreign Terrorist Organizations FTOs 12 July 2006 Archived from the original on 12 July 2006 Tony Karon Stewart Stogel 4 May 2001 U N Defeat Was a Message from Washington s Allies Time Archived from the original on 6 May 2001 Retrieved 22 December 2009 Further reading editBaxter Kylie and Shahram Akbarzadeh US foreign policy in the Middle East The roots of anti Americanism Routledge 2012 Bunch Clea Reagan and the Middle East in Andrew L Johns ed A Companion to Ronald Reagan 2015 pp 453 468 online Cramer Jane K and A Trevor Thrall eds Why Did the United States Invade Iraq Routledge 2013 Fawcett Louise ed International relations of the Middle East 3rd ed Oxford UP 2016 full text online dead link Freedman Lawrence A Choice of Enemies America Confronts the Middle East Public Affairs 2009 excerpt Gause III F Gregory Hegemony Compared Great Britain and the United States in the Middle East Security Studies 28 3 2019 565 587 Hegemony Compared Great Britain and the United States in the Middle East Hemmer Christopher Which lessons matter American foreign policy decision making in the Middle East 1979 1987 SUNY Press 2012 Jacobs Matthew F Imagining the Middle East The Building of an American Foreign Policy 1918 1967 2011 Kelley Stephen A Getting to War American Security Policy in the Persian Gulf 1969 1991 Naval Postgraduate School Monterey United States 2020 online Laqueur Walter The Struggle for the Middle East The Soviet Union and the Middle East 1958 70 1972 online Lesch David W and Mark L Haas eds The Middle East and the United States History Politics and Ideologies 6th ed 2018 excerpt Little Douglas His finest hour Eisenhower Lebanon and the 1958 Middle East crisis Diplomatic History 20 1 1996 27 54 online O Sullivan Christopher D FDR and the End of Empire The Origins of American Power in the Middle East 2012 Petersen Tore Anglo American Policy toward the Persian Gulf 1978 1985 Power Influence and Restraint Sussex Academic Press 2015 Pillar Paul R Intelligence and US Foreign Policy Iraq 9 11 and Misguided Reform Columbia UP 2014 432p Pollack Kenneth Unthinkable Iran the bomb and American strategy 2014 Wahlrab Amentahru and Michael J McNeal eds US approaches to the Arab uprisings International relations and democracy promotion Bloomsbury 2017 Wight David M Oil Money Middle East Petrodollars and the Transformation of US Empire 1967 1988 Cornell University Press 2021 online reviewExternal links editUS State Department Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Middle East U S Relations from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives Establishment of U S Consuls and Colonies in the Levant Archived 6 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine Shapell Manuscript Foundation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title United States foreign policy in the Middle East amp oldid 1221001627, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.