ABSTRACT
Throughout the course of the second half of the 20th century, Arab regimes proved themselves to be stable. Despite political challenges, outbreaks of domestic violence, defeat in war, and myriad economic problems, Arab kings, presidents, emirs, and of cers have tenaciously clung to the authoritarian status quo with no small help from Washington. Indeed, for the better part of ve decades United States of cials believed that the non-democratic leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar, Bahrain and others were good partners in helping protect America’s vital interests in the Middle East. Washington’s overarching strategy in the Arab world sought to work with friendly leaders in the region – regardless of the character of these regimes – to ensure the free ow of oil from the Persian Gulf, confront rogue regimes, help protect Israel’s security, and during the Cold War, contain the Soviet Union. Overall, the record of this strategy is quite good as the United States, despite intermittent setbacks, achieved all of these goals.
