1 Political Science Notes To Play the Hegemon Fifty Years of US policy toward the Middle East Michael C Hudson U S Policy Since WWII A the great divide Raymond Hare in U S relations with the Middle East Between our traditional position of rejecting political responsibility in the Middle East and our postwar acceptance of responsibility on a global or great power basis B America presents an imperious image Containing Soviet Communism A U S sought to contain the Soviets in the Middle East through Military alliances as it was containing them in Europe through NATO a This attempt failed Baghdad Pact of 1955 created more animosity than security in the Arab world B Soviet Union and its allies circumvented the Baghdad Pact through arms deals with Syria and Egypt C Israel was viewed as a geostrategic threat to Egypt and Syria a U S Soviet game was not considerate of the volatile ideological terrain of the Middle Eastern domestic politics D Waning of European imperialism powerful currents of nationalism modernization American liberal idealism a Third world b U S alliance with Zionist state Israel set the U S at odds with emerging Arab nationalists c Soviet Union associated itself with the trend d Nationalists coups or upheavals took place in Egypt Iran Iraq Lebanon Libya North Yemen South Yemen the Sudan and Syria E U S policy was improvised an contradictory F Palestine problem G U S support for Israel was too massive to allow for a modus vivendi agreement between those that differ H Arab nationalist movement supported by the Soviets had problems a Communism and Arab nationalism did not mix well together b Soviets were often clumsy with military aid relationships c Allowed Arab nationalists and anti Israel camp to pose serious challenge to U S interests in the region d Collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 crippled the Arab nationalist movement as well as the rejectionist coalition already crippled by their own political incapacities Access to Oil A United States commercial interests in Middle East oil 1928 a Oil did not acquire strategic security dimension until WWII b U S depended on oil especially post WWII i Half of U S oil was imported and half of its imports were from the Middle East 2 ii Needed to keep the Soviet influence out of the Middle East and prevent any internal force from nationalizing Western companies restricting production and or raising prices and overturning established regimes c CIA Ajax returned Sha Reza Pahlavi to his throne in Iran 1953 i ARAMCO the consortium of U S companies active in Saudi Arabia ii Good relations with the Saudi Arabian authorities that has endured to present d Oil Revolution in 1970 s i Price of oil had increased from 2 per barrel to 35 per barrel ii Shift in balance of oil power from companies to the producing countries iii the oil weapon 1973 after partial boycott was imposed on Americans and European consumers iv Lead to new energy policy designed to blunt the oil weapon in the future through the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and conservation measures 1 This helped alleviate pressures of the oil price rise of 1979 due to the Iranian Revolution and the Iraq Iran war 2 Collapse of oil prices in 1986 the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC and non OPEC members alike lost their collective effectiveness and the oil weapon basically disappeared B Now the main oil problem was to ensure the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council AGCC were protected from regional Iranian or exogenous Soviet inroads a United States supported Saddam Hussein Iraq in beating back the Iranian Islamist challenge Support for Israel A Not until 1967 that the executive branch diplomatic and defens establishment impressed with Israel s prowess and Arab weakness was finally persuaded that Israel might be something other than a burden on the U S national interest a Since then deeply committed supporters of Israel have mobilized the American Jewish community and have shaped public opinion to support Israel and its policies in the region i 3 billion dollars in annual aid packages go to Israel B Israel regional superpower a GNP is more than twice that of the largest Arab state Egypt b World class military establishment C This cost the United States but the costs were not unbearable a Arabs were unable to respond collectively to the challenges the US did not lose complete access to Arab oil 3 b Soviets were not able of sustaining their empire the US did not lose the region to the Soviet D United States had to ensure Israel s position in the region and help it to its feet a The US backed the conferences diplomatic summits and meetings intended to deal with the Palestine problem and Israel security i All were virtually in successful except the meeting at Camp David 1978 1 Carter instilled a separate peace between Egypt and Israel leaving the Palestinian problem unresolved a Egypt got back Sinai and a generous American aid package b Egypt lost the leadership of the Arab world which it has yet to regain 2 Israel obtained geostrategic security and a stepping stone to regional hegemony ii Camp David one of the two pivotal events in US policy in securing normalization of Israel s status in the middle East 1 Israel was secure 2 Arab s ability for collective action was definitively crippled 3 Soviets were once again marginalized iii Madrid Oslo talks the other pivotal event in US policy in securing normalization of Israel s status in the Middle East 1 Impressive diplomatic maneuvering a George Bush and James Baker b Face to face bilateral framework c Multi track structure of negotiations that Baker created modeled on the CSCE Committee on Security and Cooperation in Europe 2 The broader regional focus appealed to the Israelis and drew in countries like Saudi Arabia that could influence the Arab parties to the bilateral talks 3 The Madrid process was designed for band wagoning or developing a centrifugal momentum to create a new Middle East with Israel playing a central role The Triumph of American Policy A The entrenchment of Soviet power in that strategic region would bring a decisive shift in the world balance outflanking NATO Soviet control of the Muddle Eastern oil could disrupt the economy of the free world B Fortunately nearly forty years later the Soviet Union is gone Israel has not only survived but has become a regional superpower pan Arabism is a spent force and Arab oil most of it anyway is in the hands of friendly dependent regimes a Defense in the Middle East has succeeded