Formation of American Regional Policy for the Middle East, 1950-1952: The Middle East Command Concept and Its Legacy*

Abstract

The early 1950s witnessed a significant shift in the American attitude toward the Middle East. Britain, the dominant Western power in the region, was faltering, while the United States, already the dominant power in the Western world, remained a newcomer to the region. In the early post-World War II years, American policymakers often acted as junior partners to the British, hoping that the latter could retain their predominant position. By the time the Truman administration left office, however, the United States was prepared to play a more active role in the region. The aim of this article is to investigate this shift in attitude, and to single out the emergence of a consensual perspective toward the region within the U.S. government as the key to understanding this historical shift. The concept of a multilateral organization, named the Middle East Command (MEC) and later the Middle East Defense Organization (MEDO), served as an important catalyst for this new consensus on the regional policy. This article will analyze its development.