“From Truman to Trump: What has happened to US Foreign Policy in the Middle East?”

This lecture traces the history of American entanglements in the Middle East since World War II, emphasizing the unusual extent to which the region enters American presidential politics, posing unanticipated, and often unwelcome, policy dilemmas and political challenges. From Israel’s declaration of independence, to the Suez War, the ‘67 and ‘73 wars, the oil price shocks, the Iranian revolution, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, and the Arab Spring, the Middle East has produced trials for virtually all US administrations. Today the problems center on ISIS, Syria, and the roles of Russia, Iran, and Turkey as rivals for U.S. influence. What does this history tell us about the US, and about the Middle East, over the seventy-five years?