March 3 Notes

U.S. and the Middle East

World War II in the Middle East and North Africa

March 3, 2008

I. Aftermath of War

1. The Rise & Fall of the Sèvres System (Wilson’s political and personal collapse; treaty and Turkish reaction; Lausanne and quiet US support for Turks)

2. The Origins of Oil Diplomacy (Iraq, Red Line Agreement, and BFDC; development of Western cartel?)

3. Beyond the Red Line Agreement (emergence of Saudi Arabia: Ibn Saud and postwar world; Standard Oil, ARAMCO, and origins of US-Saudi alliance)

II. Road to World War II

1. Origins of War (flashpoints: Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey; Hitler and the Middle East—strategic: opening to Iraq, interest in Egypt; racial—Grand Mufti, Jewish/Arab tensions; British retreat from Balfour Declaration; Turkish neutrality; significance of Iran)

2. US and the Run-up to War (FDR strategic vision; domestic non-interventionism—isolationists, labor and immigration; strategic realities—“quarantine” speech, Welles mission, hostility of Chamberlain and negotiation of Munich agreement; the US and the Jewish question: USOC and Nazi Olympics, Jewish refugees—Morganthau, Ickes, and Eleanor Roosevelt vs. labor, State Department, FDR search for compromise—Alaska solution?, Dominican Republic idea; suspicion of Jewish leaders)

3. The Start of World War II (Nazi-Soviet Pact and invasion of Poland; fall of France and rise of Churchill; Italian entrance into war; Mussolini vision of new Roman Empire—Ethiopian, Albanian, Greek campaigns: pulling Germany into Balkans)

III. Effects on Middle East and North Africa

1. Northern Tier (Turkey: memories of WWI; from Ataturk to Inönü; alliance with Britain/Franc, non-aggression pact with Nazis—playing both sides; Inönü strategic calculations, Turkish strategic benefits, severing relations with Germany; minorities: economic pressures, Turkey and Holocaust; Iran: prewar flirtations with Nazis, path to Anglo-Soviet invasion—abdication of Reza Shah, signing of Tripartite Treaty, origins of U.S. involvement, Teheran and route to postwar problems)

2. North Africa (Italy and Britain, Libya and Greece; transfer of Rommel; US Entrance: FDR strategic vision; FDR and domestic politics; Churchill and Balkans, Stalin and Second Front, decision for North African campaign; Darlan Deal and complications of Vichy diplomacy; Britain and El Alemain; Operation TORCH and pincer campaign, Rommel defeat, fall of Tunisia—German POWs)

3. Middle East (Arab uprising and role of Grand Mufti; exile to Iraq, coup, and British invasion; Balkan campaigns and alliance with Hitler; creation of Lebanon; formalizing U.S.-Saudi alliance)