US foreign policy in the Middle East

1. What was the best political (or military) action that the United States took in the Middle East between 1945 and 2002?

The best political action that the United States took in the Middle East between 1945 and 2002 is the intervention during the Suez Crisis. What happened?

In 1952, the officers of the Egyptian army overthrew Farouk 1st monarchy during a social revolution against foreign imperialism, which took national proportion by abolishing the monarchy.  As a figure of the revolution, Nasser became the president of Egypt. Gamal Abdel Nasser priority after he became president was to build a new Answan Dams in order to provide electricity to all of Egypt. The president needed a financial help in order to begin the construction and the occidental camp was seeing threw Nasser an obstacle to their economic aims in the middle-east. Faced with the lack of concrete effort for his cause, Nasser decided to nationalize the Suez Canal, which was under France and Great Britain private propriety. It’s the beginning of the Suez crisis. The Suez Canal is a strategic and tactical location because it’s the isthmus that connects the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean and it represents a crucial commercial road for industrials and oil companies, neither France nor Great Britain agreed with Nasser on letting down the canal.  In response to the canal’s nationalization Great Britain, France and Israel decided to develop a secret military mission to take the canal from the hands of Nasser. The mean features of the mission are discussed in the framework of the Sevres protocol. France and Great Britain interest was to resume control over the canal meanwhile Israel interest was to extend the Israeli territory beyond the Gaza strip, under Egyptian surveillance.

In October 1956, Israel invaded the band of Gaza as it was planned by the Sevres Protocol, while France and Great Britain are attacking Cairo. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union warned the Israeli army to stop the attack otherwise they will have recourse to the nuclear bomb. France and Great Britain replicated by threatening an OTAN attacks if the Soviet Union decide to bomb Israel. In this very critical situation, the United-States decide to intervene by ordering to the occidental army to retire from the Suez Canal.

First of all, the United-States were not informed by the three nations of the Sevres protocol and the military action they were preparing against Nasser for the Suez Canal. The United-States priority was to prevent Nasser from moving to the Soviet camp and the Sevres Protocol hindered the American interests. In fact, the president Eisenhower had projects for Egypt and was in constant and diplomatic dialogue with the Egyptian president. The United-States reaction was a monetary attack against the pound sterling in order to push Great Britain to withdraw their forces from Egypt.

Two main characters represent the American response to the Suez crisis: Dwight Eisenhower president of the United-States and the secretary of States John Foster Dulles.  Together they will use a genius tactical diplomacy in order to solve the Suez Crisis. In fact, in the beginning of the crisis, Dr. Dulles declared the necessity to found a way to help Egypt to pass this crisis without any violence or war. The fear of Arab nationalism urges the United-States to be cautious even if it must go through a diplomatic opposition with the United-States allies. First of all, the United-States will, trough Dulles, restore the free movement in the canal in order to prevent any violence or tensions on the Egyptian territory. The United Nations worked on a pacific resolution of the crisis and it was the non-violent option for the United-States to resolve the crisis. In non-violent vision, the Sevres Protocol was a real threat to the balance of strength Eisenhower was searching for.

After Israel invaded the band of Gaza, the United-States declared officially that the measures taken by France, Great Britain and Israel are wrong in accordance with the United Nations Charter that prohibit the use of force by any nation except if it is for self-defense. In this situation, the United-States are using juridical method in order to make an opposition with their allies without breaking the alliance. The monetary attack against Great Britain was a way to put pressure on Great Britain without engaging direct conflict.

Why the United States intervention in the Suez crisis is for me the best political action of the United States in the middle-east?

First of all, the Suez crisis marks a milestone in the run of the United-States for the global leadership. In fact, through the Suez crisis, the United-States demonstrate to the eyes of the whole world that they are the only decision maker in the occidental camp by finding a way to convince it allies to drop their interests in favor of their own interest. It is a huge step for the United-States in their foreign policy in the Middle-East because of the legitimacy they have gained as a superpower and those through the Suez crisis.

Secondly, the intervention of the United-States in Egypt cannot be criticized because the United-States have not made the choice of violence but the choice of principles and morals. Even if it’s in their interest, the president Eisenhower stated that the United Stated is favorable to a diplomatic negotiation without using the force, contributing for the emergence and functionality of the United Nation as a warrant of peace and dialogue negotiation in order to solve international conflicts, and also letting the door open for any discussion or future alliance with the Third World. Thus, the Suez crisis was solved in a pacific way, which is the best way in term of political action.

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