Prehistory
Soviet suppression of the anti-socialist events in Poland and Hungary in 1956 showed that Western hopes for Soviet Union easing its foreign policy were in vain. As well, the victory of Nasser in events related to the nationalization of the Suez Canal, contributed to a further change in the correlation of forces in the Middle East in favor of the national liberation movement (Hahn, 2001). Arab East - most consistent followers of anti-imperialist positions as well as the Arabian Peninsula started to show the rise of political movements. The British and French imperialists found themselves pushed off to the sidelines in the region. Lack of coordination between the main participants of the NATO in the Middle East gave rise to a threat to the growth of anti-Western, pro-Soviet forces in the region. All these factors were very disturbing to the leaders of American foreign policy so the US decided to come to the forefront. Fearing the geopolitical and economic consequences the Congress passes a resolution that resulted in being one of the most famous Cold War Doctrines.
The Doctrine
The Eisenhower Doctrine was announced by the President Dwight Eisenhower in a letter to the US Congress on 5 January 1957. According to this doctrine, any country could ask for economic and military aid from the United States, if ever exposed to military aggression by another state (Hahn, 2006). Eisenhower stressed the Soviet threat in his doctrine, expressing the readiness of US armed forces to ensure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of countries in need of help against the military aggression of any nation controlled by international communism. US readiness to use nuclear weapon was not new but rather a continuation of previous attempts to restrain the Soviet influence from spreading. This Doctrine gave President: 1) the right to interfere in case of a “direct” communist attack on Middle East countries. 2) The right to reward the Arab countries that will accept the Eisenhower Doctrine, with 200 million US dollars - which was a considerate amount of money at the time. These funds were aimed at countering the spread of socialist ideas in the region.
The goals of the anti-communist and anti-Soviet slander, on which the Eisenhower Doctrine is based, are obvious: firstly, it was intended to stop national states from cooperating with the socialist camp, and secondly – to split the patriotic, anti-imperialist forces within these states. The latter was needed to not lose control over the Middle East region, not only for geopolitical reasons but also because it contains the largest amount of oil supply and losing it would lead to economic problems for the US and its allies.
After seeing that the Doctrine did not stop Egyptian President’s popularity from rising in the region, as well as the spread of Soviet influence, the US government decided to work from the inside as well. Having Syria side with the USSR the US started funding its neighbors – Jordan and Iran. However, they did not turn out to be the restraining force US hoped for.
The chance to put the Doctrine to action happened in 1958, when left with no other choice – president of Lebanon Camille Chaumon sent an urgent cable to US President requesting help under the Eisenhower Doctrine, in order to keep the pro-Western government from falling during the Revolution (Wilson, 2002). Unfortunately, for the US, Lebanon was taken over by opposing political forces and its authorities rejected the Eisenhower Doctrine. Therefore, the American troops were asked to leave as soon as possible.
How it was received
Democrats opposed the Doctrine but could offer no coherent alternative (Yaqub, 2004). Their main remarks were that the Doctrine was only focusing on the USSR and not paying attention to such important issues as: the security of Israel, the Suez Canal, Israeli shipping the Gulf of Aqaba.
The majority of Arab countries has negatively received the Eisenhower Doctrine. Among the masses, the Doctrine caused outrage and protest. Even the hypocritical “concern” about the Quran did not help the imperialists. In the Arab countries, the Eisenhower Doctrine was imposed only on Lebanon and Iraq that was a participant of the Baghdad block at the time. Other than that, Turkey, Israel Iran and Jordan also gave in to the Doctrine. These countries have concluded an agreement with the US government. However, the Eisenhower Doctrine was intended mainly for the Arab countries, since the others have already been involved in agreements and alliances with the imperialists.
The Soviet government has strongly condemned the attempts of US imperialism to impose its dictatorship on the people of the Middle East and put forward a positive agenda on strengthening their independence and security. Soviet proposals, aimed to ease tension in the Middle East were supported by the other socialist countries; however, not surprisingly the imperialist countries rejected them.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Doctrine
The success of the Eisenhower’s Doctrine is controversial. It was mostly compromised by the fact that the Eisenhower and his government looked at the Middle East only from the Cold War point of view. US deemed Soviet Union as the only threat to their involvement in the region, and underestimated the power of the nationalism of separate Arab countries.
On one hand, the Doctrine managed to keep the Cold War confrontation under control. On example of Lebanon, the US government showed the socialists its ability to act very quickly. This together with the nuclear threat must have had its impact on the peace between the two world superpowers. Moreover, in terms of army it costed US nothing, which was a positive point for the at-home voters.
However, on the other hand, even though Soviet Union is long gone, the US government is until now financially involved with Jordan and anti-Hezbollah movement in Lebanon. Also because of the strong nationalist movement, US did not gain control over the Middle East region, as it was hoping. Both the USSR and the US came out of 1957 with allies in the region, which until this day remain in state of confrontation. If we look at the Doctrine through eyes of US government of 1957, then it probably was a successful political act, since it did stop socialism from spreading to the Middle East.
References
Hahn, P. L. (2006). Securing the Middle East: The Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957. Presidential
Studies Quarterly, 36(1), 38–47. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/27552745
Hahn, P. L. (2001). [Review of The Origins of the Eisenhower Doctrine: The US, Britain, and
Nasser's Egypt, 1953-57]. The International History Review, 23(4), 991–993. Retrieved
Salim Yakub. (2004). Containing Arab nationalism: The Eisenhower Doctrine and the
Middle East. (pp. 57-87). The University of North Carolina Press.
David Nason Wilson, B.A. (2002). The Eisenhower Doctrine and its Implementation In
Lebanon-1958. The University of Texas at Austin.
