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AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY TOWARD IRAQ AND IRAN In

AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY TOWARD IRAQ AND IRAN

This research discusses the evolution of American foreign policy toward Iraq and Iran in recent decades. In the 1970s, the United States relied chiefly on Iran, which it supported with economic and military aid to maintain its interests in the region. After the Khomeini Revolution of 1979 and during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988, it played Iraq and Iran against each other but, as time went by, shifted most of its support to Iraq. During the Persian Gulf War, the United States marshalled a powerful coalition war effort against the Iraqis but stopped short of marching on Baghdad and toppling Saddam Hussein for fear of shifting the power balance in the central Middle East to Iran. Since 1993, the Clinton administration has pursued a policy of dual containment toward Iraq and Iran which has enjoyed some temporary success but which increasingly shows signs of lacking the necessary broad international support to endure very much longer. Whether, however, other more effective American foreign policies can be devised for dealing with Iraq and Iran depends primarily on internal developments within those nations which are very largely beyond the control of the United States.

Iran as a Bulwark Against Communism and Nasserism

Iran, Iraq and Turkey were the northern tier of Middle Eastern anti-communist states organized to block Soviet southern expansion by the British with American support in the postwar period. Iraq dropped out of Western defense arrangements after King Feisal's government in Baghdad was overthrown in July 1958 by the Iraqi military, led by General Abdal Karim Qasim. The Qasim regime was replaced by the pan-Arabic Baath party, which staged coups in 1963 and 1968 and shared power with the military at other times. According to Metz, "the Baath's pan-Arab and socialist leanings alienated both the pro-Western Gulf states and the Shah of Iran" (1990, pp. 59-60).

Baghdad b...

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AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY TOWARD IRAQ AND IRAN In. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 10:10, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1707703.html