History 102SY The United States and the Middle East 1900 to the Present

The Interwar Period

1921 Arabesque themes in US popular culture 1926

By 1930s Americans increasingly concerned with two ME issues: Zionism and oil

Hadassah sewing circle, Boston, s and early 1930s—American Zionist groups declined Zionism

Rise of Hitler in 1930s revived Zionist movement

November 1938—Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) 1938—Nazis stepped up persecution of Jews

Nazi persecution caused major exodus of Jews out of Germany

1938–Evian Conference (in France) failed to offer solution to refugee crisis

Amid global depression, German Jewish refugees had severe difficulty getting visas to enter other Western countries

Immigration Act of 1924

President Franklin Roosevelt was sympathetic to Jewish refugees but did little to ease immigration restrictions

American Zionists grew stronger in mid- to late 1930s; pressured Britain to ease restrictions on Jewish immigration into Palestine Zionist Organization of America convention, New York, 1939

Britain initially responded favorably to Zionist pressure, but began to have second thoughts in late 1930s, due to intensity of Palestinian and Arab opposition to Zionism Palestinian rebels against British rule, late 1930s

1939—Britain issued White Paper Placed strict limits on numbers of Jews admitted to Palestine each year Regulated land sales in Palestine to Zionist institutions and individuals

David Ben-Gurion Zionists bitterly opposed White Paper, which appeared as refugee situation in Europe was growing increasingly dire

Oil In 1920s reliance on automobile (and thus demand for oil) grew extremely rapidly in US

Oil

1928—American oil companies signed “Red Line Agreement” with British, French, and Dutch companies for excavating for oil in former Ottoman Empire

1933—Standard Oil of California (SOCAL) got concession to prospect for oil in Saudi Arabia

1938—Socal struck oil

War and Cold War in the Middle East

In 1940s US government first became concerned about political character and geopolitical orientation of ME countries

This resulted from two major events: World War II and outbreak of Cold War

US now recognized vital necessity of maintaining access to oil reserves and to strategic positions of region

WWII: concerns about potential Axis linkup

WWII: North Africa as launching pad for Allied invasion of Italy

Lend Lease Act Proposed December 1940 Enacted March 1941

During war US sent Lend-Lease to USSR via “Persian Corridor” Iran

1941—Britain and USSR removed Iranian monarch, Reza Shah, and replaced him with his son, Mohammed Reza Shah Pahlavi Iran

Huge American establishment built up in Iran, forging close relationship between US and Iranian governments that continued until late 1970s Maj. Gen. Donald Connally, commander of US forces in Iran and Iraq, with Iranian journalists

Frictions resulting from presence of thousands of Americans in Iran

Because of its oil wealth, Saudi Arabia became vitally important to US during war Saudi Arabia

During war US established diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and declared it eligible for Lend Lease aid King Ibn Saud Saudi Arabia

America’s growing involvement in Saudi Arabia caused friction with Britain, which suspected US of seeking to monopolize Saudi oil opportunities and to push Britain out of ME FDR and Churchill

February 1945—FDR and Ibn Saud met on US naval vessel on Egypt’s Great Bitter Lake

Throughout WWII, US and Britain bribed and pressured Turkey to keep it from aligning with Axis powers Turkey

1942 Turkey

North Africa

December 1941-January 1942—Churchill visited FDR in Washington DC

FDR and Churchill agreed that defeating Germany should take precedence over defeating Japan

FDR and Stalin wanted early Anglo-U.S. attack on German positions across English Channel Allied disagreement over when and where to confront Germany

Churchill wanted to delay cross-Channel attack and start with attack on “soft underbelly” from south Allied disagreement over when and where to confront Germany

FDR agreed to follow Churchill’s “soft underbelly” approach Allied disagreement over when and where to confront Germany

Late 1942—North Africa campaign began, under command of Dwight D. Eisenhower

Spring 1943—Anglo-US capture of Tunisia, paving way for advance up to Sicily and Italy

1942

During WWII, default US position was to be sympathetic to nationalist aspirations of Third World peoples Decolonization

But when Third World nationalism conflicted with war effort, war effort won

Case in point: in 1942 Britain forced Egypt’s King Farouk to dismiss his pro-Axis cabinet, and US supported Britain

Farouk and FDR, 1945

Churchill, FDR, and Joseph Stalin 1945—World War II ended; shortly thereafter Cold War began

Geographical proximity to Soviet Union Strategic importance of ME in Cold War

Role of Persian Gulf oil in European recovery Strategic importance of ME in Cold War

US was determined to retain access to oil reserves and strategic positions of ME but for the time being was content so see Britain remain primary Western power there

Iran crisis, 1946 Ahmed QavamJoseph Stalin Early Cold War Crises in Middle and Near East

Iran crisis, 1946 Ahmed QavamJoseph Stalin Early Cold War Crises in Middle and Near East

Turkish Straits crisis, 1946 USS Missouri Early Cold War Crises in Middle and Near East

Turkish and Greek crises, 1947 Greek civil war Early Cold War Crises in Middle and Near East

... leading to Truman Doctrine, 1947 Early Cold War Crises in Middle and Near East