ABSTRACT
The continuing Arab–Israeli conflict, however, provided another arena for the rivalries of outside powers, especially the United States and the Soviet Union, as the Cold War extended into the region. The Baghdad Pact had implications not only for great-power rivalries and inter-Arab antagonisms but also for the Arab–Israeli conflict. American support for the Baghdad Pact was a tactical mistake in the light of subsequent events. It polarized the Arab world between Iraq and Egypt, led to destabilization in many countries in the region, and was indirectly responsible for bringing the Soviet Union into the heart of the Middle East. Syria made its own arms deal with the Soviet bloc in 1956, and Jordan was subjected to intense "pan-Arab" pressure emanating from Egypt and Radio Cairo. The Arab economic boycott and continued closure of the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping impeded Israel's economic growth.
