U.S. Policy toward the Arab-Israeli Conflict under President Dwight Eisenhower, 1953–1961

The article is dedicated to the Eisenhower administration policy toward Arab-Israeli conflict. U.S. policy during Suez Crisis and the issuance of the Eisenhower Doctrine were considered. It should be emphasized that desire to prevent of the extension of Soviet influence in the Middle East had impact on U.S. policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict. Initially Eisenhower administration preferred to contain the USSR in the area and showed little interest in Middle East peace settlement. USA helped to organize a defense pact along the region’s northern tier, hoping this would block the Soviets from the area. But the Eisenhower administration could not avoid the Arab-Israeli conflict because that dispute provoked anti-Western sentiment in Arab states, hindered the establishment of a regional defense scheme, blocked American influence, facilitated Soviet-Arab rapprochement. U.S. officials concluded that the Soviet Union sought to gain influence in the Middle East by exploiting the Arab-Israeli dispute. U.S. leaders became even more determined to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. The U.S. Department of State formulated a comprehensive peace plan. But U.S. efforts to achieve a permanent peace in the Middle East were failed because Arabs and Israel rejected to accept the U.S. peace plan. It was concluded that the Eisenhower administration pursued an evenhanded policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict.