History 171D The United States and the World Since 1945

The Arab-Israeli Conflict

September 1973—Henry Kissinger replaced William Rogers as Secretary of State

Two weeks later, another major war broke out in the Middle East

The Arab-Israeli Conflict

For centuries, much of Arab world had been under control of Ottoman Empire, based in Turkey

Ottoman Empire crumbled after it fought on losing side in World War I

After WWI, League of Nations awarded Britain mandates over Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq

Theodor Herzl Late 19th century—European Jews, inspired by Theodor Herzl, began settling in Palestine in pursuit of Zionist program

During WWI Britain had made conflicting pledges to Zionists (Balfour Declaration, 1917) and Arabs (vague promises of independence) Arthur BalfourSharif Hussein of Mecca

Interwar period—Britain caught between conflicting demands of Zionists and Palestinian Arabs Jewish refugees from Europe, late 1930s Palestinian rebels against British rule, late 1930s

Rise of Hitler in 1930s, and especially Nazi Holocaust in 1940s, gave enormous impetus to Zionist movement

—Zionist groups attacked British forces in Palestine and illegally smuggled Jewish refugees into Palestine

Early 1947—Britain announced it would pull out of Palestine in 1948, turning issue over to United Nations

Summer 1947—UN Special Commission recommended partion of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states

Zionists accepted partition plan; Arabs rejected it

Division within Truman administration Secretary of State George Marshall WH Counsel Clark Clifford

Truman decided to support partition

November 1947— UN General Assembly voted in favor of partition

—UN partition vote sparked violence between Zionists and Palestinian Arabs

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

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

Dwight D. Eisenhower set out to follow more “even- handed” Middle East policy

—Following British, French, and Israeli attack on Egypt, Eisenhower pressured Israel to withdraw from Egyptian territory

Israel complied but got concessions in return: termination of Egyptian blockade of Strait of Tiran and stationing of UN peacekeeping force in Sinai

Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson (especially latter) were more partial to Israel than Eisenhower had been

Late 1950s and 1960s—Arab world divided between conservative governments (e.g., Saudi Arabia & Jordan) and radical governments (e.g., Egypt, Syria, & Iraq)

Gamal Abdel Nasser vs. King Hussein

May 1967—Nasser moved forces into Sinai, requested withdrawal of UN peacekeepers, and reinstated blockade of Strait of Tiran

June 1967—Israel launched preemptive strike against Egyptian air force

Israel took Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt; West Bank from Jordan, Golan Heights from Syria

After 1967 war Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) emerged as independent force PLO chairman Yasser Arafat

Attack on 1972 Munich Olympics

Nasser’s successor: Anwar Sadat

1973 Arab-Israeli War aka “Yom Kippur War”

Brent Scowcroft

With Sadat After war, Kissinger launched “shuttle diplomacy” With Israeli PM Golda Meir

— Kissinger negotiated partial Israeli pullback in Sinai, paving way for Camp David Agreement of late 1970s

Late 1973-early 1974—Oil producing Arab states embargoed oil shipments to West, causing major spike in gas prices and in general inflation rate

August 1974—Nixon resigned; Vice President Gerald Ford became president

Gerald Ford,

Spring 1975—North Vietnam launched offensive against South

April 1975—Saigon fell

Spring 1975— Communist takeovers in Laos and Cambodia

—Khmer Rouge and the Cambodian genocide

1975—US, Soviet Union, and European nations met in Helsinki, Finland, to sign Helsinki Final Act Western nations formally recognized European borders established at end of World War II, and East bloc nations pledged to respect human rights (but then reneged on pledge)

—Church and Pike Committees exposed prior covert actions of CIA Senator Frank Church displaying poison dart gun

1974—Jackson-Vanik Amendment denied most- favored nation (MFN) status to Soviet Union Refusnik supporters protesting to President Ford Henry Jackson Charles Vanik

Mid-1970s—Détente came under attack from both right and left, as exemplified by presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan (in Republican primary) and Jimmy Carter Carter, Reagan, and Ford

November 1976—Jimmy Carter elected president