Before the Tilt: The Carter Administration Engages Saddam Hussein

Abstract

Scholars have detailed the American “tilt” toward Iraq during the 1980s. There is, however, an important pre-history to this relationship, which has only emerged with the release of new American and Iraqi documents. American overtures to Saddam Hussein originated not under Reagan, but under his predecessor. From early in his presidency, Jimmy Carter sought to engage Iraq in hopes of moderating the Baathist regime and fortifying America’s position in the Persian Gulf and broader Middle East. Though this diplomacy ultimately proved unsuccessful, this episode has implications for the study of Carter’s foreign policy and the evolution of American–Iraqi relations.