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© 2012 Maurice Jr. M. Labelle All Rights Reserved © 2012 MAURICE JR. M. LABELLE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TRACES OF EMPIRE: DECOLONIZATION AND THE UNITED STATES IN LEBANON, 1941-1967 A Dissertation Presented to The Graduate Faculty of The University of Akron In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Maurice Jr. M. Labelle May, 2012 TRACES OF EMPIRE: DECOLONIZATION AND THE UNITED STATES IN LEBANON, 1941-1967 Maurice Jr. M. Labelle Dissertation Approved: Accepted: Advisor Department Chair Dr. Walter L. Hixson Dr. Michael Sheng Committee Member Dean of the College Dr. Ghazi Walid-Falah Dr. Chand Midha Committee Member Dean of the Graduate School Dr. Mary Ann Heiss Dr. George R. Newkome Committee Member Date Dr. Janet Klein Committee Member Dr. Elizabeth Mancke ii ABSTRACT This dissertation explores how the United States became an “imperial” power in Lebanese imaginations after its political decolonization. As Lebanon obtained its full constitutional independence in 1946, a shift occurred in how Lebanese peoples perceived and encountered U.S. global power. Despite the United States’ anti-imperial rhetoric and support for Lebanese self-determination, many Lebanese increasingly grew disenchanted with real and imagined U.S. interferences in national and regional affairs, as well as Washington’s apparent blatant disregard for Arab human rights. In particular, U.S. public declarations in favor of Zionism and support toward the creation of Israel—a perceived product and surrogate of Western imperialism—in May 1948 led many to question U.S. motives in the Middle East, interrogate the United States’ so-called anti-imperial tradition, and equate Lebanon’s post-independence present with its colonized past. Despite being self-governing, Lebanese society imagined itself in a constant state of decolonization as traces of empire remained and jeopardized Lebanon’s sovereignty. The U.S. military intervention in the Lebanese civil war of 1958 contributed to ongoing constructions that considered Washington to be openly disregarding Lebanese public opinion and stepping into the shoes of fading imperial iii powers in the Middle East: Britain and France. The U.S. sale of Hawk anti-aircraft missiles to Israel in 1962 and, finally, the popular belief that the United States colluded with Israel during the third Arab-Israeli war of 1967 formalized the process in which U.S. “empire” became a reality in Lebanese mindscapes. By the war’s end, many Lebanese peoples viewed the United States as being far from exceptional as it had fully embraced an “imperial” policy and culture like others before it and stood at odds with decolonization. iv DEDICATION For Katie v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I will never forget where I was when I first heard about the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. I was eighteen and a senior at l’Ecole secondaire l’Héritage in my hometown of Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. The bell signaling the break between first and second period had just gone off. As walked to my locker, I crossed the daytime custodian. Immediately following our regular morning greetings, she delivered the shocking news: the Twin Towers had been attacked. My first reaction—like that of many in my high school, the United States, and across the globe—was: who had done this and why? So many lives lost; and for what? For the remainder of the day, my Franco-Ontario friends and I turned to our teachers, wondering how such a tragedy could take place, and attentively tuned into CNN later that day for news. Born and raised in Cornwall, many of us often crossed the St. Lawrence River and traveled a mere ten minutes south into upstate New York. Many of us, therefore, felt connected to the United States. It was a part of our daily lives. Relatives of mine lived in nearby Massena, New York, and I visited them myriad times a year throughout my childhood. This said, Le Monde’s memorable September 12th headline, “Nous sommes tous Américains,” adequately represented the feelings of many in my small, non-American town, myself included. vi Long after U.S. president George W. Bush stood before the world and asked “why do ‘they’ hate ‘us’?,” 9/11 continued to impact my intellectual development. Prior to my high school graduation, my mother and aunt took my sister and I to New York City for a weekend of sightseeing. Transformed into a mere construction site, I personally encountered Ground Zero and witnessed all the messages left behind by others before me. A mere nine-months or so later, I sat in my first-year world history since 1945 class at the Université d’Ottawa and engaged in vibrant discussions over the global war on terror and the United States’ invasion of Iraq. Puzzled as to how and why such events took place, I developed an interest in the histories of U.S. involvement in the Middle East and Washington’s relations with Arab-Muslim peoples. More specifically, I felt a need to challenge dominant stereotypes of Arab anti-Americanism and place the latter in its proper historical context. This dissertation, while far from offering definitive answers, is the culmination of ten-years of curiosity, dedication, and hard work. Many faculty members at the University of Ottawa’s History Department were crucial in helping me throughout this tumultuous journey. I would especially like to thank Drs. Galen Perras, Serge Durflinger, Ryme Seferdjeli, Nicole St-Onge, Micheline Lessard, and Pierre Henri Habib. Above all, I will be forever indebted to my M.A. supervisor and mentor, Dr. Lotfi Ben Rejeb. Together, we spent countless hours in his office discussing contemporary U.S.-Middle East relations and their pasts. On numerous occasions, Lofti shared with me memories of his childhood in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia, and the various nuanced ways in which his community processed U.S. global power in both past and present. He encouraged me to learn Arabic, work on my vii English proficiency, and eventually undertake a Ph.D. in the United States. This dissertation would not have been possible without him. The History Department at the University of Akron proved to be an excellent place for me to undertake my doctoral studies. Its faculty is without question first- class. The same must be said of my supervisor: Dr. Walter L. Hixson. Walter was and continues to be an excellent mentor. I would also like to extend my sincere appreciation to Drs. Janet Klein, Elizabeth Mancke, Martin Wainwright, T.J. Boisseau, Greg Wilson, Steve Harp, Kevin Kern, Zachery Williams, Michael Graham, and Michael Sheng. I must additionally thank Dr. Ann Heiss, from nearby Kent State University, whom I could always count on and turn to for advice, and Dr. Ghazi Falah from the University of Akron’s Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies. The support of Kym Rohrbach, Wade Wilcox, and their office team was invaluable. My graduate colleagues moreover made my experience in the Rubber City a memorable one. Special thanks go to Kate Flach, Andrew Sternisha, Kal Johal (my British half-cousin), Lauren Mostardi, Sevin Gallo, Christine Lober, Ted Easterling, Tamara Rand, and David Pennington. But perhaps most importantly, my time in Akron would have been much different if it were not for my dear friend, Alain Savoie. Thanks, brother! This dissertation would not have been possible without generous travel grants and fellowships from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Society of Historians of Americans Foreign Relations (SHAFR), the University of Akron’s History Department, as well as the Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson presidential libraries. This financial aid viii allowed me to visit wonderful places, most notably Lebanon. I will never forget my time in the land of cedars. While in Beirut, I had the fortune of meeting plenty of amazing people and form long-lasting friendships. Above all, I would like to thank Lema Chehimi for her hospitality and help with Arabic translations. Shukran ktir! The staff at the American University of Beirut’s Jafet library and archive and the Archives nationales du Liban were equally very supportive. My academic travels also brought me to France, the United Kingdom, China, and Canada, as well as various corners of the United States, where I received the much-appreciated assistance of numerous archivists and librarians. Finally, my work received endless intellectual support from many excellent historians, most of which are members of SHAFR, such as Carol Anderson, Mark Bradley, Jeff Byrne, Paul Chamberlin, Nate Citino, Dan Cobb, Chris Dietrich, Ann Foster, Jim Goode, Peter Hahn, Jake Hogan, Paul Kramer, Zach Levey, Wm. Roger Louis, Ussama Makdisi, Melani McAlister, John Munro, Brenda Gayle Plummer, Rob Rakove, Andy Rotter, Chapin Li Rydinsward, Brad Simpson, Lorrin Thomas, Hugh Wilford, Salim Yaqub, and Tom Zeiler. My greatest debt, however, goes to my family and friends. My journey to this point has been a challenging one to say the least. Without their support, I could not have realized such an accomplishment. Suffice to say, they deserve much of the credit. I would like to extend a special thanks to my in-laws, Steve and Diane Magee. I consider myself very fortunate to have them both in my life. Ultimately, this achievement would not have been possible without the support of four extraordinary women. My grandmother, aunt, and mother—Yvonne, Francine, and Sylvie Vaillancourt—have always stood by me and they will forever hold special places in ix my heart. Je vous aime beaucoup! For the last ten years or so, my wife and best friend, Katie Magee Labelle, has made me a better and stronger person. Without her love, I would not be where I am today. This work, Katie, is dedicated to you.
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