The Middle East and the United States

The important position of the United States in the Middle East has traditionally been examined from a one-dimensional perspective. The second edition of this acclaimed book brings together noted scholars and diplomats from the Middle East, North America, and Europe to provide a multidimensional and cross-cultural historical reassessment of American policy toward the region. The book has been completely revised and updated, examining such encounters as the King-Crane Commission following World War I to the current Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and security questions in the Gulf. Two all-new chapters have been added to enhance its comprehensiveness. }The important position of the United States in the Middle East has traditionally been examined from a one-dimensional perspective. The second edition of this acclaimed book brings together noted scholars and diplomats from the Middle East, North America, and Europe to provide a multidimensional and cross-cultural historical reassessment of American policy toward the region. The book has been completely revised and updated, examining such encounters as the King-Crane Commission following World War I to the current Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and security questions in the Gulf. Two all-new chapters have been added to enhance its comprehensiveness. The Middle East and the United States: A Historical and Political Reassessment, Second Edition begins by examining the evolution of the U.S. role in the Middle East, from untested international actor to cold war participant in the 1950s. The discussions explore how the perceived idealism of the Wilsonian approach gave way to the economic diplomacy following World War II, which in turn was replaced by a more goal-oriented foreign policy commensurate with the onset of the Cold War. It then analyzes the varied roles of the United States in the peace process in the aftermath of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and discusses each role in relation to specific events and relationships that characterized the process. Contributors then turn to the 1990-1991 Gulf war and its aftermath, which helped bring about a new regional configuration and created an enhanced role for the United States, one, however, that has come under increasing scrutiny of late. The final section offers a retrospective look at the Cold War era in the Middle East and at the new challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for American foreign policy with respect to the peace process, Islamist movements, security in the Gulf, and regional economic issues. The volume closes with a post-script on the development of the U.S. perception of the Islamic world during the Triplolitan era in the early years of the republic, showing that the negative image of the region generally held by Americans is anything but a recent phenomenon. }