The Transformation of America’s Middle East Policy

Abstract

The years between John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in January 1961 and the end of the October war of 1973 saw the Middle East develop from an area where the United States had interests but no deep commitments into one of Washington’s main priorities in foreign policy. By the end of this period, the United States had become Israel’s chief friend and protector, was fostering a new relationship with Egypt, had been deeply involved in conflict regulation, and was engaged in the search for peace in the Middle East. These were developments which it would have been difficult to predict in the early 1960s. Kennedy took office at a time when the Middle East was relatively quiet. Israel was making rapid advances toward achieving a European standard of living and Nasser showed no interest in provoking another conflict with her, sheltering behind the convenient fiction of UNEF’s 1400 soldiers. Kennedy’s Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, had a close knowledge of the Arab-Israeli conflict but that only served to confirm the official view of its intractable nature. As neither man could see any promise of negotiating a final settlement between the parties, the best policy seemed to be to let well alone. A major dimension of Kennedy’s foreign policy was to try to improve relations with the leaders of the non-aligned movement of which Nasser’s Egypt was an important part.