Kennedy and the Middle East
Subtitle: the Cold War, Israel and Saudi Arabia
By: Antonio Perra
Series: Politics & international relations; Politics & international relations (Bloomsbury Publishing)
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2019
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 236
ISBN-13: 9781350986978; 9781786731951
Subjects: Middle East Politics; Politics & International Relations; Relations; Politics and government
Description: "At the height of the Cold War, the John F. Kennedy administration designed an ambitious plan for the Middle East-its aim was to seek rapprochement with Nasser's Egypt in order to keep the Arab world neutral and contain the perceived communist threat. In order to offset this approach, Kennedy sought to grow relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and embrace Israel's defense priorities-a decision which would begin the US-Israeli 'special relationship'. Here, Antonio Perra shows for the first time how new relations with Saudi Arabia and Israel which would come to shape the Middle East for decades were in fact a by-product of Kennedy's efforts at Soviet containment. The Saudi's in particular were increasingly viewed as 'an atavistic regime who would soon disappear' but Kennedy's support for them-which hardened during the Yemen Crisis even as he sought to placate Nasser-had the unintended effect of making them, as today, the US' great pillar of support in the Middle East."--Bloomsbury Publishing.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.

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