KICKING THE HORNET'S NEST

Tracing seven decades of U.S. presidential missteps in Middle Eastern diplomacy.

Noted Middle Eastern studies scholar and author of Indecision Points: George W. Bush and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (2014), Zoughbie presents an engrossing account of how the blunders, indecisiveness, and exalted hubris of 12 presidents from Truman through Trump’s first term have transformed the Middle East into a destabilizing force. Zoughbie argues that “as the United States replaced the Ottoman Empire, France, and Britain as the region's hegemon, it failed to act prudently, moving away from soft power toward an overreliance on hard power. Rather than prioritizing development and diplomacy—and diplomacy through development—U.S. foreign policy opted time and again for defensive military spending: coups, wars, and arms deals.” Through detailed case studies of each president, Zoughbie traces steady deterioration, from Truman’s shortsightedness—“By recognizing only Jewish and not Arab self-determination, with neither a bridge nor a partition plan, Truman virtually guaranteed the immediacy of a regional war”—to Kennedy's inability to curtail Israel’s weapon development, to Reagan’s presidency “characterized by alleged lawlessness, shady deals, and quid pro quos involving hostages,” with this pattern continuing through subsequent administrations. Somewhat surprisingly, only unelected Gerald Ford emerges favorably; Zoughbie praises his Mideast policy as “a magnificent achievement of modern statecraft,” noting that Ford demanded that Israel negotiate in good faith with Egypt and was willing to challenge the American-Israeli alliance to achieve peace. While Zoughbie in his prologue references recent events like the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, his analysis concentrates on the historical decisions that created today’s crisis. Acknowledging that regional problems stem from multiple sources—wealthy Persian Gulf nations prioritized modernization while poor countries descended into conflict, and leaders missed opportunities to improve their people’s lives—he concludes that decades of misguided American interventions significantly worsened conditions by fueling distrust, undermining stability, and perpetuating cycles of violence throughout the region.

A stimulating, well-researched examination of how postwar U.S. presidential decisions destabilized the Middle East.