The United States and Arab Nationalism: The Syrian Case, 1953-1960

This work explores three themes. The Eisenhower Administration’s overriding Cold War goal in the oil-rich Middle East was minimising Soviet influence. Second, Soviet support for Arab opposition to British colonialism and Israeli Zionism prompted Arab nationalists to embrace neutralism in the Cold War. Third, Eisenhower and Dulles perceived neutral Arab nationalism as tantamount to pro-communism. Syria, the most xenophobic Arab state, was deemed most susceptible to Soviet enticements. This book concludes that US policies in Syria went awry, provoking Syria to collaborate even more closely with the Soviet Union.