Decline of the Anglo-American Middle East, 1961-1969: A Willing Retreat

Discusses Anglo-American policy in the Middle East under Kennedy and Johnson, as well as under British Conservative and Labour governments; Provides a historical background on the Anglo-American Middle East for the 1950s; Analyses Western policy toward Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser, and toward the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf. The author provides an extensive study of the common British and American interest in the Middle East (hence the term Anglo-American Middle East) under Kennedy and Johnson. Contrary to recent scholarly opinion, the author argues that the loss of influence to the Soviet Union and Arab radicalism in the Middle East was not the result of lack of power but lack of will. Britain, during the period of Harold Wilson's Labour government (1964-1970) withdrew from its Middle Eastern bases for ideological reasons, namely a distaste for imperialism and colonialism. The United States, while placing great store in a continued British presence east of Suez, was unable or unwilling to prevent the British withdrawal. And as the British withdrawal gathered momentum, American disinterest toward the Middle East increased.

Table of Contents:
John F. Kennedy Confronts the Middle East: A New Beginning?; Kennedy, Nasser, Macmillan and the War in Yemen, 1962-1963; The Flickering Embers of Empire: Douglas-Home, Lyndon Johnson and the Middle East; Trying to Hold the Line: Lyndon Johnson and the British Role East of Suez; Leaving Aden, October 1964 to November 1967; Doctrinaire Socialists as Feudal Overlords: Saudi Arabia, 1964-1967; The Withdrawal From the Persian Gulf; The End of the Anglo-American Middle East?

About the Author :
Tore T. Petersen is Professor of International and American Diplomatic History at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He is the author of The Middle East between the Great Powers: Anglo-American Conflict and Cooperation, 19527, The Decline of the Anglo-American Middle East, 19611969, and Richard Nixon, Great Britain and the Anglo-American Alignment in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula. His most recent publication is Anglo-American Policy toward the Persian Gulf, 1978-1985.

Review :
In this well-written book, Petersen, a noted expert in the region, explains and analyzes the delicate Anglo-American relations and their common interest in the Middle East between 1961 and 1969. Highly recommended. -- Choice