History 439

Kennedy and the Middle East

March 1, 2007

I. Eisenhower’s Dual Containment

1. Eisenhower and Nasser (Aswan Dam; Nasser’s turn east; US and the Suez intervention)

2. Containing Nasser (Syria and covert ops; significance of Iraq and Pakistan; collapse of Baghdad Pact)

            3. The Fringes: Algeria (FLN and launching of war; US response; domestic pressure; end of war)

II. Nuclear Diplomacy
            1. Turkey (Eisenhower and nuclear weapons; decision to build Jupiters: US-British tensions, domestic pressures, limits of DDE theories; effects of Sputnik and offer to all NATO; who will take?: limitations of Greece, Italy, West Germany; decision to station in Turkey; ramifications)

            2. Israel (DDE legacy: security guarantee, arms procurement, tense relations in 1950s; JFK: Israel as model?—Kennedy and developmentalism; politics—Democratic coalition; Congress—foreign aid revolt, Gruening-Keating amendment and foreign aid to aggressor states; regional affairs—security guarantee, Hawk anti-aircraft missiles; broader foreign policy issues—nonproliferation, Dimona)

            3. Iran (US, Iran, and 1950s—martial law, rigged elections, growing popular discontent; Kennedy and the Third World: counterinsurgency, promotion of democracy—Latin America, Vietnam; Iran as model for Middle East?: developmental aid, democratic surge; Shah’s response—military aid, heighten fear of communism, growth of SAVAK; turning point: US and Amini government—withdrawal of support, road to “White Revolution”)