U.S. Foreign Relations Policy: History of U.S Relations with Iraq

U.S. Foreign Relations Policy
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U.S. Foreign Relations Policy
Introduction
Whilst many researchers have focused on the cold war conflicts in Cuba, Afghanistan and Vietnam, few have considered the importance of Middle East and more specifically Iraq as a cold war battleground. In essence, U.S foreign policy in Iraq during the cold war was designed to deny the Soviet influence in the country and the region in general. This can be deduced from the U.S reaction to Iraq’s revolution in the year 1958 (Krieg, 2016). During the revolution, Eisenhower government engaged in covert action in a bid to prevent the spread of communism in Iraq. All through, U.S motive in Iraq was based on the latter’s increasing importance in the region particularly its significance to the international cold war strategy which sought to contain the spread of communism.
History of U.S Relations with Iraq
Prior to the cold war, the U.S government took little interest in Iraq. The U.S government visualized a liberal political system that would encompass autonomy for Iraqis. This vision was not however effectively promoted with the government deferring the country to the British who managed Iraq as a League of Nations and converted it into a pro-western country. Following the rise of the Nazi threats, the U.S became concerned that Iraq would become dominated by Germany. In reaction to this, the U.S approved the British army containment Rashid Al-Gailani, then a pro-Nazi Iraq who had briefly occupied the seat of the prime minister (North, 2015). The British army with the support of the U.S restored the Monarchy which worked in cooperation with the allies and their strategies and objectives. Slowly, the U.S became involved in political liaison with Iraq.
The arrival of cold war raised concerns in Washington more so in relation to Soviet expansionism and the Middle East. This generated determinism in the U.S with the main aim being stopping expansion of communism. At this time, Britain could not maintain its dominant position given due to financial constraints. Intra-regional anxiety and more specifically the conflict over Palestine destabilized the region. The rise of anti-western nationalism as a result of the support of Israel by the U.S. government and the British imperialism undermined the popularity of the western monarchy in Iraq. Towards the end of 1940s and 1950, the U.S. sought to stabilize the Arab country (Gunter, 2015). In an effort to achieve this, the U.S. facilitated the withdrawal of Iraq from Palestine as a move towards ending the Arab-Israel war. America also encouraged Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) to increase its level of output and to share revenues with the Iraq government. In addition, the U.S. government provided military and economic aid to the Iraq government.
As aforementioned, America’s covert action in Iraq and the larger Middle East region was aimed at stopping the spread of communism. The U.S. intelligence system has in the past been accused of trying to assassinate Iraqis political leaders such as in the case of Qasim in 1959 and again in 1960. Qasim was finally overthrown in 1963 by the Ba’th party and with the assistance of American intelligen...