American Orientalism : The United States and the Middle East Since 1945

"Douglas Little exposes the persistence of "orientalist" stereotypes in American popular culture and examines United States policy toward the Middle East from many angles. Chapters focus on America's increasing dependence on petroleum; U.S.-Israeli relations; the rise of revolutionary nationalist movements in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Libya, the futility of U.S. military and covert intervention; and the unsuccessful attempt to broker a "peace-for-land" settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. A new epilogue addresses the recent U.S. war in Iraq. Little offers valuable historical context for anyone seeking a better understanding of the complicated relationship between the U.S. and the Middle East."--Jacket "With the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, America's relationship with the Middle East exploded to the forefront of our national consciousness. Looking back more than a half-century, Douglas Little offers valuable, historical context for anyone seeking a better understanding of this complicated relationship. He explores the encounters between the United States and the Middle East since 1945, focusing particularly on the complex, sometimes inconsistent attitudes and interests that have shaped U.S. relations in the region." "Little begins by exposing the persistence of "orientalist" stereotypes in American popular culture and then examines U.S. policy toward the Middle East from many angles. Chapters focus on America's increasing dependence on petroleum; U.S.-Israeli relations; the threat of communism; the rise of revolutionary nationalist movements in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Libya; the futility of U.S. military and covert intervention; and the unsuccessful attempt to broker a "peace-for-land" settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The overarching theme of the book is that a combination of American omnipotence and profound cultural misunderstanding ensured that the United States would encounter trouble in the Middle East after 1945 and that those forces continue to bedevil the relationship between these vastly different cultures to the present day."--Résumé de l'éditeur (éd. 2002) "With the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, America's relationship with the Middle East exploded to the forefront of our national consciousness. Looking back more than a half-century, Douglas Little offers valuable, historical context for anyone seeking a better understanding of this complicated relationship. He explores the encounters between the United States and the Middle East since 1945, focusing particularly on the complex, sometimes inconsistent attitudes and interests that have shaped U.S. relations in the region.". "Little begins by exposing the persistence of "orientalist" stereotypes in American popular culture and then examines U.S. policy toward the Middle East from many angles. Chapters focus on America's increasing dependence on petroleum; U.S.-Israeli relations; the threat of communism; the rise of revolutionary nationalist movements in Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Libya; the futility of U.S. military and covert intervention; and the unsuccessful attempt to broker a "peace-for-land" settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The overarching theme of the book is that a combination of American omnipotence and profound cultural misunderstanding ensured that the United States would encounter trouble in the Middle East after 1945 and that those forces continue to bedevil the relationship between these vastly different cultures to the present day."--BOOK JACKET.

Douglas Little explores the stormy American relationship with the Middle East from World War II through the war in Iraq, focusing particularly on the complex and often inconsistent attitudes and interests that helped put the United States on a collision course with radical Islam early in the new millennium. After documenting the persistence of "orientalist" stereotypes in American popular culture, Little examines oil, Israel, and other aspects of U.S. policy. He concludes that a peculiar blend of arrogance and ignorance has led American officials to overestimate their ability to shape events in the Middle East from 1945 through the present day, and that it has been a driving force behind the Iraq war. For this updated third edition, Little covers events through 2007, including a new chapter on the Bush Doctrine, demonstrating that in many important ways, George W. Bush's Middle Eastern policies mark a sharp break with the past.

Gideon's Band In The Holy Land : We're Not In Kansas Anymore -- Orientalism, American Style : The Middle East In The Mind Of America -- Opening The Door : Business, Diplomacy, And America's Stake In Middle East Oil -- The Making Of A Special Relationship : America And Israel -- A Tale Of Four Doctrines : U.s. National Security, The Soviet Threat, And The Middle East -- Sympathy For The Devil? : America, Nasser, And Arab Revolutionary Nationalism -- Modernizing The Middle East : From Reform To Revolution In Iraq, Libya, And Iran -- Kicking The Vietnam Syndrome : Waging Limited War From The Mediterranean To The Persian Gulf -- Opportunities Lost And Found : The United States And The Arab-israeli Peace Process -- Not Your Father's Persian Gulf War: The Bush Doctrine, Iraq And Radical Islam. Douglas Little. Chaps 1-8 Updated, Previous Conclusion And Epilogue Replaced By New Chapter Includes Bibliography (p. 393-419), Notes, And Index. Gideon's band in the Holy Land : we're not in Kansas anymore Orientalism, American style : the Middle East in the mind of America Opening the door : business, diplomacy, and America's stake in Middle East oil The making of a special relationship : America and Israel A tale of four doctrines : U.S. national security, the Soviet threat, and the Middle East Sympathy for the devil? : America, Nasser, and Arab revolutionary nationalism Modernizing the Middle East : from reform to revolution in Iraq, Libya, and Iran Kicking the Vietnam syndrome : waging limited war from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf Opportunities lost and found : the United States and the Arab-Israeli peace process Fool's errand or Kodak moment? : America and the Middle East at the dawn of the twenty-first century Not your father's Persian Gulf War : the Bush doctrine, Iraq, and Islam. Explores the stormy American relationship with the Middle East from World War II through to the war in Iraq, focusing particularly on the interests that helped put the United States on a collision course with radical Islam. This book also examines oil, Israel, and other aspects of US policy.