History 102SY The United States and the Middle East 1900 to the Present

Eisenhower, the Cold War, and the Middle East

May 1948—Zionists declared independent state of Israel

Truman immediately recognized Israel

Arab states went to war against new state

but Israeli army defeated them

... and took more territory than initially allotted to Jewish state

—750,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from homes in present-day Israel

Israel refused to permit repatriation of refugees

Atrocities by Zionists Deir Yassin, 1948

—750,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from homes in present-day Israel Israel refused to permit repatriation of refugees

Truman tried to get Israel to give back territory and take back some Palestinian refugees, but Israel refused and Truman gave up

Arab-Israeli impasse

Eisenhower, the Cold War, and the Middle East

During Eisenhower years, US confronted forces of indigenous ME nationalism, which posed serious threat to Washington’s effort to enlist ME nations in Cold War

Dwight D. Eisenhower,

With Vice President Richard M. Nixon As president, Eisenhower was often dismissed as detached and out of touch

With Vice President Richard M. Nixon... but was later shown to have been more on top of events than assumed at the time

With Secretary of State John Foster Dulles

Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles

Eisenhower appointed Allen Dulles (Foster’s brother) director of CIA Allen Dulles

Eisenhower and Dulles were determined to keep ME oriented toward the West

Ambivalent attitude toward continuation of French and British domination

Iran

Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) Iran

1951—Iranian parliament nationalized facilities of AIOC and elected Mohammed Mossadeq prime minister Iran

1951—Iranian parliament nationalized facilities of Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) and elected Mohammed Mossadeq prime minister Iran Mohammed Mossadeq

—British boycotted Iranian oil; Mossadeq refused to rescind nationalization and started challenging Shah Reza Mohammed Pahlavi Shah Reza Mohammed Pahlavi

From a secret CIA history, 1954 “Operation Ajax”

1953—Eisenhower administration moved against Mossadeq; enlisted Kermit Roosevelt of CIA

1953—Roosevelt fomented coup within Iranian army, ousting Mossadeq and restoring Shah’s authority

Shah became close ally of US

Challenge from Arab world

Vestiges of European Imperialism France Arab nationalist grievances against West

Vestiges of European Imperialism Britain Arab nationalist grievances against West

Creation of Israel and displacement of Palestinians

US dilemma over Arab world

1952—Egyptian revolution Gamal Abdel Nasser and Muhammad Naguib

Mid-1950s—Nasser became pan-Arab leader

Other “non-aligned” leaders of this era Jawaharlal Nehru of India Sukarno of Indonesia

Nasser wanted to build Aswan Dam to increase agricultural yield and produce hydroelectric power

July 1956—Dulles withdrew funding offer for Aswan Dam

1996

Nasser reacted to Dulles by nationalizing Suez Canal Company to collect toll revenues Nasser announcing nationalization decision in Alexandria, July 1956

Britain, France, and Israel started plotting attack against Nasser British PM Anthony Eden and French PM Guy Mollet Israeli PM David Ben-Gurion

Britain, France, and Israel started plotting attack against Nasser

Late October 1956— Britain, France, and Israel attacked Egypt

Ill. Ind. Oh.

After attack began, Nasser closed Suez Canal, severely obstructing shipments of Persian Gulf oil to West

Nikita Khrushchev General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union,

US and Soviet Union both condemned attack; Eisenhower used economic pressure to force end to attack

Suez crisis demonstrated that Britain was no longer primary Western power in Middle East; from now on US would play that role

January 1957—to prevent Soviets (and Nasser) from filling “vacuum” in ME, Eisenhower announced “Eisenhower Doctrine”

Eisenhower Doctrine offered military aid, economic aid, and military protection to ME countries willing to line up with US in Cold War

—Eisenhower tried, unsuccessfully, to build up conservative Arab leaders to rival Nasser’s regional influence Eisenhower, King Saud, and Vice President Richard Nixon, 1957

July 1958—Iraq’s pro-West monarchy overthrown by Arab nationalist officers

Eisenhower reacted by sending 14,000 US marines to Lebanon to shore up its pro-West government

Late 1958 and early 1959—Eisenhower quietly shelved Eisenhower Doctrine and began modest rapprochement with Nasser