ABSTRACT
Even though they have experienced bitter periods of colonialism, suppression and exploitation at the hands of the West, after independence the Arabs sought to reaffirm relations with Western powers on friendly terms. Arab-American relations, in particular, have a long and colorful history. America’s adoption of Israel as its flagship in the Middle East represents the principal background factor to relations between the Arabs and the West on the one hand, and Israel and the West on the other. The roots of Israeli foreign policy extend back to the beginning of the modern Zionist movement. Aside from Israel, the key to successful American policy in the Arab world was Egypt. President Nasser was seen as a major obstacle to any possibility of improvement in Arab-United States relations, and Egypt’s refusal to participate in any defense scheme posed a major problem for United States policy in the Middle East.
