The Cold War, Truman & the Creation of the State of Israel 08
Eisenhower, The Suez Crisis & Arab Nationalism 11
Nixon, the Yom Kippur War & Kissinger Diplomacy 18
Carter & the Camp David Agreement 20
Reagan, the Middle East & the Intifada 22
Bush, the Gulf War & the Oslo Peace Accord 25
Bush, Terrorism & the Middle East, & the Road Map to Peace 31
Future U.S. Policy on Israel & Palestine 37
The 20th century illustrates a significant change in U.S. policy toward the Middle East over the past one hundred years. As the century began, the U.S. enjoyed a relatively benign image throughout the Arab world. In the formative decades of the century, the U.S. had little interest in the Middle East save for the actions of missionaries, philanthropic activities, and affording protection to American citizens there. Even so, the years prior to WWII demonstrate ambivalence and uneven application of policy toward the region. President Wilson’s principle of “self-determination” seemed to have been abandoned with respect to the Middle East. Through mandate or de facto control, England and France had already colonized areas in the Middle East thought significant to their respective interests.
Despite the benign impact of U.S. policy on the Middle East at the start of the century, the issue of Palestine was already emerging as one of significance. Interest in this province of the Ottoman Empire stemmed from the official indoctrination of the political doctrine of Zionism in 1897 at Basle, Switzerland (Neff 2003). The 204 delegates, Jews from fifteen countries, unanimously agreed that “Zionism aims at the creation of a home for the Jewish people in Palestine to be secured by public law,” (Neff 2003, 1). At the start of the century, Arabs owned 99% of the land and comprised 95% of the population in Palestine, (Neff 2003). Many Jews were opposed to the establishment of a non-melting pot nation...