A Study On U.S. Policy Toward Egypt (1953-1973)

During the cold war, the Middle East was the important strategic territory of strife between US and Soviet Union. After World War II, French and British colonialism began to withdraw from the Middle East, and the Soviet’s penetration to this area had posed grave threat to the US global strategies. As a great power had glorious ancient history and important strategic position, Egypt played a leading role in Arabic nationalism which raised concerns of US and the Soviet. America had taken Egypt as an important fulcrum to contain the Soviet Union and to safeguard its strategic interests, and leaded the Arabic world to be a fortress to prevent the Soviet’s expansion in the Middle East.This paper will make analysis systematically on the different policies toward Egypt from President Eisenhower to Richard Nixon, and reveal the features, essences and influences of those policies from a macro perspective of the world history. The method will base on the authentic research by learning from other knowledge systems and paradigm, such as International Politics and International Relations to clarify the relevant issues.This paper is divided into four chapters, except introduction and conclusion discussed the origin and ideas respectively. The first chapter investigates into the backgrounds of formation of US policies toward Egypt. During the World War II, the Middle East had become an important strategic territory for its abundant petroleum resources which had also to be very important to USpetroleum policy and its Middle East strategy. After the war, Arab nationalism had impacted the British colonial rule which presented a great opportunity to penetrate into the Middle East for the Soviet Union. America had implemented the luring policy toward Egypt in order to seek regional power’s support to contain the Soviet.The second chapter expounds the formation and evolution of US policies toward Egypt.There is a fatal confrontation between US and the Soviet during the Eisenhower administration when Arabic nationalism reached its high tide. America had promoted the negotiation on Anglo-Egypt Agreement, organized the Baghdad Pact, enacted the Alpha plan to balance the relationsbalance the relations between Arabs and Israeland the Omega plan tomarginalize the Egypt, and thenintroduced Doctrine to isolate the Egypt.The third chapter reveals the essence of Peaceful Strategy during Kennedy’s administration. The President had implemented the food for peace program to prevent the Egypt from tipping to the Soviet by counterbalancing the aid of the Soviet to release the relations between US-Egypt. The Johnson administration had stiffened its policy toward Egypt and had supported Israel against the influences of Nasserism on the region by starting the June 5 war. American one-sided policies toward Israel had led to the breakdown of relationship between US and Egypt.The fourth chapter analyzes the moderate policies toward Egypt during the Nixon era.Egypt had launched the October War to break the stalemate of “no war, no peace”, and had ended the myth of Israel’s undefeated. America had pursued the moderate policies to promotethe signing of a series of important agreements by Henry Kissinger’s Shuttle Diplomacy. The resumption of diplomatic relations between US and Egypt had excluded the Soviet and protected the US-strategic interests in the Middle East.The last part summarizes the evolution of the American policy toward Egypt in the context of the Cold War, reveals its features, influences on the order of Middle East,and mainly dissects the deeply causes shaping US’s policies toward Egypt: US-Soviet Cold-War, Arab-Israeli Peace, Arab nationalism, Jewish Interest Groups and US presidential election etc., And then analyzes deeply the essence of US hegemony from multi-dimensions.