At the dawn of World War I, the United States was only a rising power. Its reputation was relatively benign among Middle Easterners, who saw no "imperial ambitions" in its presence and were grateful for the educational and philanthropic services Americans provided. Yet by September 11, 2001, everything had changed. The U.S. had now become a "world colossus so prominent in the political, economic, and cultural life of the Middle East that it was the unquestioned target of those bent on attacking the West for its perceived offenses against Islam."

How and why did this transformation come about? And how did each of the factors that make the Middle East so complex contribute to this transformation?

This lecture series is a narrative history of U.S. political involvement in the Middle East from World War I to the present day. Presented from a historian's perspective, it is meant to strengthen your ability to place today's headlines into historical context, evaluate what is most likely to happen next, and understand those oncoming events when they do occur. Step by step, with attention to the viewpoints and motivations of each nation and leader involved, the course explores, over a 90-year span:

* growing American involvement in the Middle East * the ongoing quest for political independence and self-mastery by Middle Easterners * the difficulty the U.S. has experienced in weighing diverse and conflicting objectives in the region, especially as the Cold War against the Soviet Union intensified * the increasing antagonism between Americans and Middle Easterners that came to such a shocking culmination on September 11, 2001.

Inhoud

CH1. A Meeting of Two Worlds
CH2. Wilson & the Breakup of the Ottoman Empire
CH3. The Interwar Period
CH4. U.S. & the Middle East During World War II
CH5. Origins of the Cold War in the Middle East
CH6. Truman & the Creation of Israel
CH7. Eisenhower, the Cold War & the Middle East
CH8. The Suez Crisis & Arab Nationalism
CH9. Kennedy-Engaging Middle Eastern Nationalism
CH10. Johnson-Taking Sides
CH11. The Six-Day War
CH12. The Nixon Doctrine & the Middle East
CH13. The Yom Kippur War & Kissinger's Diplomacy
CH4. Carter & Camp David
CH15. The Iranian Revolution & the Hostage Crisis
CH16. Era of Limits-Energy Crises of the 1970s
CH17. The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
CH18. Reagan & the Middle East
CH19. The First Palestinian Intifada
CH20. The Gulf War
CH21. The Rise & Fall of the Oslo Peace Process
CH22. The United States & the Kurds
CH23. The United States & Osama bin Laden
CH24. September 11 & Its Aftermath