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Abstract Department of Political Science Abu Salim ABSTRACT DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE ABU SALIM, IHMOUD B.A. YARMOUK UNIVERSITY, JORDAN, 1985 M.A., MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY, 1989 THE U.S. POLICY TOWARDS THE MIDDLE EAST: THE CASE OF THE 1990-1991 GULF WAR Advisor: Dr. Benneson DeJanes Dissertation dated December, 1998 This study has unfolded the U.S. policy toward the Middle East in general and the U.S. response to the 1990- 1991 Gulf crisis in particular. It has uncovered the fact that throughout different phases of history the U.S. policy in the Middle East was shaped by its national interests. U.S. interests in the Middle East, as elsewhere, are determined on the basis of strategic considerations and access to resources and markets. At a more specific level, however, U.S. policy objectives in the Middle East over the past several decades, until the 1990-1991 U.S.-led war in the Persian Gulf, were to: contain Soviet expansionism and influence in the region, ensuring a steady flow of the region's oil and petro-dollars to the west and Japan; defend 1 the security of Israel; secure a permanent U.S. military base in the region; and as a result of the collapse of the Cold War order in 1990, establish the U.S. as world leader. The United States has significantly achieved these goals. In fact, by defeating Iraq, the United States has further secured its national interests in the Middle East. The Gulf War was carried out to this end. 2 THE U.S. POLICY TOWARDS THE MIDDLE EAST: THE CASE OF THE 1990-1991 GULF WAR BY IHMOUD ALI ABU SALIM A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY DECEMBER 1998 ) © 1998 IHMOUD ALI ABU SALIM All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Apart from the mercy of the Almighty, lowe a great deal to many people who have made this study possible. First among these are my advisor, Dr. Benneson DeJanes, and my committee members, Dr. Hashim Gibrill and Dr. Hamid Taqi, who were my teachers, friends, and guides during my student years. They provided clear direction and professional assistance as well as moral support and encouragement. My great appreciation goes to Mrs. Kathy Summers, who has typed and retyped my dissertation with great patience and kindness. I am indebted to my friends, Dr. Abdul-Raouf EI- Barghoti and Dr. Suleiman AI-Akeel, for their true friendship, love, care and affection. I am grateful to my family, my lovely wife Mariam, and my sons and daughters, Nimer, Momenah, Enas, and Abdul-Rahman, for their patience, understanding, and encouragement throughout this process. Finally, lowe much to my parents for their many sacrifices, blessings, love and affection. I am especially grateful to my father, Ali Abu Salim who was my teacher, philosopher, guide, and supporter. While lowe a great deal to all of these, I am alone responsible for the errors and flaws that remain. ii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENT S . i i LIST OF TABLES......................................... v LIST OF FIGURES ....................................... Vl. Chapter I. INTRODUCTION. 1 Statement of the Problem .. .................. 1 Purpose of the Study ........................ 8 Research Questions .. ... ............ ......... 8 Organization of the Study. .......... ........ 9 Research Methodology ........................ 10 Sources of Data 14 Significance of the Study. ......... ..... .... 14 II. THE CONCEPT OF NATIONAL INTEREST. ...... ..... .... 16 National Interest and Realism ...... ..... .... 20 Debate Between Realists and Neorealists . .... 22 Defining National Interest ......... ..... .... 26 Applying a National-Interest Matrix in Foreign Policy Analysis ......... ..... .... 32 Conclusion 33 III. MIDDLE EAST: A GEO-POLITICAL OVERVIEW.. ..... .... 36 Defining the Middle East 37 The People, Language and Religion .. ..... .... 43 Oil and the Middle East .. ..... ..... ..... .... 51 Political Overview of the Middle East ... .... 55 The Suez Crisis 62 The Six Day War of 1967 64 iii The October War of 1973 66 Camp David Agreement: A Treaty for Peace.... 67 Crises in the Persian Gulf.................. 68 Toward an Arab-Israeli Peace Agreement.. .... 70 Conclusion .................................. 72 IV. EVOLUTION OF THE U.S. NATIONAL INTEREST IN THE MIDDLE EAST..................... 74 Introduction ................................ 74 Development of U.S. Policy in the Middle East 76 U.S. Interests in the Middle East: The Cold War Period ...................... 136 Conclusion .................................. 156 V. THE 1990 -19 91 GULF WAR. 159 Introduction ................................ 159 Background of the Gulf War .................. 161 Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait .................... 176 U.S. Response to the Crisis ................. 178 Conclusion .................................. 227 VI. FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE U.S. INTERVENTION IN THE GULF WAR .................... 230 Introduction ................................ 230 Oil Factor .................................. 232 The Israel Factor ........................... 241 Securing Permanent U.S. Military Base in the Gulf .............................. 249 Post Cold War Syndrome: U.S. Quest for World Leadership ......................... 258 VII. CONCLUSION...................................... 264 REFERENCES. 282 iv TABLES Table Page 1. National Interest Matrix.................... 28 2. Britain and the 1956 Suez Crisis. ........... .... 33 3. States of the Region............................ 48 4. OPEC Crude Oil Production, 1979-91.......... .... 56 5. OPEC Middle East Oil Revenues, 1974-91.......... 56 6. U.S. Security Assistance to the Gulf Cooperation Council States ................... 133 7. Estimated World Crude Oil Reserves by Region.... 143 8. Total Value of Arms Imports, 1984-1988 .......... 155 9. Contributions to the Multinational Coalition .... 194 10. Share of U.S. Oil Consumption Supplied by Imports, 1960-92............................. 238 v FIGURES Figure Page 1. Middle East Map ............................... 47 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem The emergence of the Middle East as an area of politico-economic and strategic importance to the United States is a fairly recent phenomenon. Before the Cold War, U.S. involvement in the Middle East was mainly limited to the defense of commercial interests, primarily oil. The circumstances in which the u.S. emerged as a superpower at the end of World War II changed the nature of its involvement. with the Middle East "from a distant political observer to one exercising prerogatives of a traditional imperial power protecting the status quo." 1 During the 1940s, in preparation of the policy that eventually became the "containment" strategy against the Soviet Union, the U.S. diplomat, George Kennan had designated the Middle East as one of the most important areas to be protected within the American sphere of influence. 2 Later, the Eisenhower Doctrine (1957), the Nixon Doctrine (1969), and the Carter lSalim Mansur, "The (Persian) Gulf War: The United States and the Middle East," The Iranian Journal of International Affairs 3, no. 3 (Fall 1991). 2See J. Gaddis, Strategies of Containment (New York: Oxford University Press, 1982), Chapter Two. 1 2 Doctrine (1980) committed the United States to responding directly or through local states if any threats were to occur, or if the U.S. were invited to respond through any state in the area. The Eisenhower Doctrine extended the containment policy from the northern tier states to the Middle East in general. Congress subsequently authorized the use of armed force to assist non-communist Middle Eastern nations threatened by armed aggression from any country controlled by "international communism." The Nixon Doctrine specified that the United States would furnish military and economic assistance to nations whose freedom was threatened but would expect those nations to defend themselves. The result of the policy review was the president's endorsement in November 1970 of what became known as the "twin-pillar" policy. Its rationale was that the United States had strategic interests in Iran and Saudi Arabia, which meant that U.S. support for either nation would alienate the other. Despite their mutual distrust, cooperation between the two nations was felt to be essential in the face of growing Arab radicalism. The 1973 OPEC's oil embargo contributed significantly to the increase of U.S. concern about the Middle East and, in fact, since then the region has been consistently an area of major preoccupation of the American foreign policy establishment. The Islamic revolution in Iran, in 1979, 3 appeared to be another blow for u. S. interests in the region. The overthrow of the Shah's regime showed the perils of policy based upon client regimes, lacking internal legi timacy and dependent on external support for their existence. Moreover, the Islamic revolution in 1979 posed an ideological threat to all Arab regimes, particularly to the Gulf monarchies. Thus Washington policy makers viewed its containment as necessary for both the survival of the client regimes and the protection of other u.S. interests in the region. In 1980 President Jimmy Carter responded to the turmoil in Iran and particularly to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by promulgating a new doctrine which states that America's "vital interests" would compel it to resist any efforts by outside powers to control the area. 3 In short, during this time United States policy towards the Middle East was: 1. to ensure
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