1. The Origins of American Power in Iraq, 1941–1945.
- Author
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O'Sullivan, Christopher and Damluji, Manaf
- Subjects
IRAQ-United States relations ,IRAQI politics & government, 1958- ,MIDDLE East-United States relations ,20TH century British history - Abstract
Utilizing archival sources in both the United States and Britain to describe the changes in American policy in Iraq during World War II, and tracing the emergence of the United States as an important factor in Iraq's politics and history, the authors challenge the notion that the United States was a passive bystander to events there during the war. Washington initially followed the British lead, but, beginning in 1942, the United States became more assertive in its relations with Iraq, with American diplomats, State Department officials, postwar planners, and intelligence officers promoting the ideals of the Atlantic Charter while simultaneously aiming to secure Iraq's petroleum and tying it into a network of Western alliances. Iraq's vital strategic position and its rich petroleum resources made it an important part, along with Saudi Arabia and Iran, of the American effort to secure, militarily and economically, the oil-rich Gulf region for the West in the postwar era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2009
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