U.S foreign policy regarding Israel and Egypt began to change after the formation of the State of Israel in 1948. Before this time Britain was the reigning presence in the Middle East. The U.S. led the way and was the first to recognize the state of Israel after U.N. Resolution 181 allowed for the creation of Jewish and Arab states through the partition of Palestine. Middle East-U.S. relations dramatically changed at this point, incorporating stresses involved in contemporary foreign policy, ôThe stresses of accommodating both an increasingly close relationship with Israel and ties with Arab states that were at war with Israel have marked American relations with the Arab world ever since,ö (Middle 2003, 3). Pro-Israel support in U.S. policy was responsible for a rise in Arab nationalism, particularly in Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser. When Arabs blocked the Suez Canal, President Eisenhower favored territorial compromise to resolve the dispute between Israelis and Palestinians over the West Bank and Gaza Strip instead of partition. Eisenhower began restricted military aid to Israel and increased economic aid to conservative Arab regimes, forcing Israel to withdraw the Gaza Strip and the Sinai during the Suez Canal Crisis. Since EisenhowerÆs time in office, U.S. policy continues to support militarization of the region, including both Israel and Arab states, while still dealing with national security issues such as the pursuit of oil, combating a rise in Islamic extremism, and resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As Michael T. Klare (2002) argues U.S. foreign policy in he region represents a ôdeadly nexus,ö maintaining that ôthe links between terrorism, oil, and national security policy appear substantial,ö (414).
The 1967 Arab-Israeli war took a heavy tool on Egypt. Egypt lost Sinai, the profitable oilfields there, and fees from the use of the Suez Canal. Its armed forces were in total shambles, primarily d...