Ike's Gamble: America's Rise to Dominance in the Middle East

Ike's Gamble: America's Rise to Dominance in the Middle East by Michael Doran

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The Suez Crisis of 1956 is one of the most important and most studied events in the history of U.S. engagement in the Middle East. In a bold reinterpretation of the story, Ike's Gamble shows how the crisis taught President Eisenhower that Israel, not Egypt, would have to be America's ally in the region.

In 1956, President Nasser of Egypt moved to take possession of the Suez Canal, bringing the Middle East to the brink of war. The British and the French, who operated the canal, joined with Israel in a plan to retake it by force. Despite the special relationship between England and America, Dwight Eisenhower intervened to stop the invasion.

Distinguished Middle East expert Michael Doran shows how Nasser played the United States, invoking America's opposition to European colonialism to drive a wedge between Eisenhower and two British prime minister, Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden. Meanwhile, in his quest to become the strongman of the Arab world, Nasser made weapons deals with the USSR and destabilized other Arab countries that the United States had been courting in an effort to prevent them from falling under the influence of the Soviet Union. The Suez Crisis was Nasser's crowning triumph, but his success owed more to American support than to his own cunning. In time, Eisenhower would realize that Nasser had duped him, that the Arab countries were too fractious to anchor America's interests in the Middle East, and that the United States should turn instead to Israel.

Affording deep insight into Eisenhower and his foreign policy, this fascinating and provocative history provides a rich new understanding of the tangled path by which the United States became the power broker in the Middle East.

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Free Press, Hardcover, 1st Edition, 1st Printing, 2016, 292 pages