Current Events and U.S. Diplomacy
A doctrine refers to a set of attitudes and goals set by the president of the United States. Different presidents of the U.S came up with various presidential doctrines defining how the country was prepared to handle foreign policies. One of the most commonly known doctrines introduced by the U.S. president was the Eisenhower Doctrine. On January 5th, 1957, President Eisenhower Dwight announced the Eisenhower Doctrine to the United States Congress. The doctrine allowed any country to seek economic assistance and military aid from the U.S. government and the U.S. military respectively if under armed aggression threat from another country (History.com Staff, 2009).
Global events during the cold war leading to the formation of the Eisenhower Doctrine
The increasing tension in the Middle East led to the announcement of the Eisenhower doctrine. Later, the Eisenhower Doctrine recognized the Middle East as a cold war zone between 1945 and 1991 Arabs showed increasing hostility towards the West. The Suez Crisis in 1956 led to an increasing Soviet influence in Syria and Egypt. The Great Britain, Israel, and France mobilized their militaries against Egypt. The mobilization encouraged the Middle East pan-Arab sentiment making the Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser more influential and popular. The loss of prestige of France and Great Britain caused by Suez conflict lead to a power vacuum in the Middle East. President Eisenhower realized the power vacuum would allow Egyptian President Nasser spread his pan-Arab policies that would lead to the creation of dangerous alliances with Syria and Jordan. The Soviet had better opportunities of filling up the void because the canal had already opened the Middle East to the Soviet influence. Eisenhower did not want this to happen because it would lead to collaboration between international communism and radical nationalism that would threaten the interests of Western nations. Eisenhower responded by sending American army troops to the Middle East to ease up the tension; hence, the commencement of the doctrine (U.S. Department of State, 2016).
The cold war relationship between the United States and Egypt before the formation of the Eisenhower Doctrine
The United States and Egypt had a strong diplomatic relationship with Egypt since 1922 long before the announcement of the Eisenhower Doctrine. Egypt is rich in natural gasses and oil. The United States saw the opportunity and developed a close relationship with Egypt to prevent Britain, which had for long been involved with Egypt since the 1800s, from taking up Egypt's oil and gas deposits. U.S. developed a foreign policy in the 1950s to protect end the British colonial rule and prevent Western European from accessing oil in the Middle East. Additionally, Egypt dominates the Middle East culture, and the U.S. State Department wanted to make the country an ally and encourage pro-Western elements in the Egyptian community. The move by President Eisenhower to announce the Eisenhower Doctrine was pushed by the need for the U.S. to offer protection to Egypt and other countries in the Middle East from exploitation by European nations. Additionally, the trade relationship between the two countries would be destroyed if the French and Britain soldiers were allowed to take control of the country (Buescher, 2016).
The current relationship between the United States and Egypt
After the announcement of the Eisenhower doctrine, the U.S.-Egypt ties have shown significant improvement to date. U.S. plays a central role in assisting Egypt to build its economy and military strength by introducing more strategic partnerships between the two nations. Additionally, U.S. supports Egypt's move towards democracy through introducing foreign policies that protect human rights and civil liberties. According to Sharp (2016), Egypt continues to enjoy special military benefits from U.S. only available in few other countries worldwide. Additionally, the two nations currently engage in bilateral economic relations with U.S. importing gas and oil, wheat, steel products, corn, and iron products from Egypt. Moreover, Egypt and U.S. share memberships in the international organizations (U.S. Department of State, 2014).
The influence of the Eisenhower Doctrine on global affairs
It's now almost sixty years since the announcement of the Eisenhower doctrine in the United States. The rhetoric American politics has continued to express its support human rights and liberal political ideologies across many nations worldwide. U.S. foreign policies favor security interests aimed at promoting democracy and human rights among war-affected regions. The doctrine led to significant political, economic, and social changes in the Middle East. The Soviet society was unable to continue with their mission in the Middle East since they were faced with the strong U.S. military force protecting Egypt and other nations in the Middle East region. Despite much resistance from Britain and France, the doctrine made Arabs gained their democracy and could eventually stand as independent nations with the help of the United States (Yaqub, 2004).
Relevance of the doctrine to Lebanon
President Eisenhower Dwight announced the Eisenhower doctrine with a common agenda of saving all nations in the Middle East from Western exploitation. The doctrine had a similar influence on both Egypt and Lebanon nations.
References
Buescher, J. (2016). The U.S. and Egypt in the 1960s. Teachinghistory.org. Retrieved March 07,
2016 from, http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/23930
History.com Staff. (2009). Eisenhower Doctrine. History.com. A+E Networks. Retrieved March
07, 2016 from http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/eisenhower-doctrine
Sharp, J. M. (2016, February 25). Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations. Congressional
Research Service
U.S. Department of State. (2014, May 20). U.S. Relations with Egypt. Fact Sheet. retrieved from
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm
U.S. Department of State. (2016). Milestones: 1956-1960. The Eisenhower Doctrine. Office of
the Historian. Retrieved March 7, 2016 from https://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960/eisenhower-doctrine
Yaqub, S. (2004). Containing Arab Nationalism: The Eisenhower Doctrine and the Middle East.
U.S. Foreign Policy. Retrieved March 07, 2016 from https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/2004-05-01/containing-arab-nationalism-eisenhower-doctrine-and-middle-east
