Description
Book SynopsisIn Spheres of Intervention, James R. Stocker examines the history of diplomatic relations between the United States and Lebanon during a transformational period for Lebanon and a time of dynamic changes in US policy toward the Middle East. Drawing on tens of thousands of pages of declassified materials from US archives and a variety of Arabic and other non-English sources, Stocker provides a new interpretation of Lebanon''s slide into civil war, as well as insight into the strategy behind US diplomatic initiatives toward the Arab-Israeli conflict. During this period, Stocker argues, Lebanon was often a pawn in the games of larger powers. The stability of Lebanon was an aim of US policy at a time when Israel's borders with Egypt and Jordan were in active contention. Following the June 1967 Arab-Israeli War, the internal political situation in Lebanon became increasingly unstable due to the regional military and political stalemate, the radicalization of the country's domestic
Trade Review
This valuable work provides a highly detailed review of the American diplomatic record and lays important groundwork for future scholars to expand upon, especially those who will put Stocker's revelations into greater conversation with Middle Eastern sources. Additionally, Stocker's assessment that perceptions about American action, even when not exercised, influenced decision making provides a useful framework for scholars of U.S. international relations.
-- Laila Ballout, Northwestern University * The Journal of American History *
Stocker weaves in leading policy-makers’ discussions and decisions with regional and international dynamics to shed light on how the United States viewed events in Lebanon in general, and the Lebanese government in particular.... Clearly uncovers what has been argued all along by Lebanese academics and policymakers, namely, that Lebanon has never been left alone to make its own decisions freely.
* PERSPECTIVES ON POLITICS *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: "This Is the American Policy"
US Interests in Lebanon
Causes of the Lebanese Civil War
The Course of the Conflict, 1975–76
1. Sparks in the Tinderbox: The United States, the June War, and the Remaking of the Lebanese Crisis
Lebanese Domestic Tensions on the Eve of the June War
The United States and Lebanon in the 1960s
Lebanon's Six Day War
Pepsi-Cola Hits the Spot
The Beirut Airport Raid 2. Compromise in Cairo: The Nixon Administration and the Cairo Agreement "Trying to Be Helpful"
The August Attacks and the Rogers Plan
October Crisis and the Cairo Agreement
3. From Cairo to Amman: The United States and Lebanese Internal Security Post-Cairo US Assistance to Lebanon
Implementing the Cairo Agreement
The Kahhale Ambush and the Exodus from the South
Causes of the Calm 4. Plus ça change: International Terrorism, Détente, and the May 1973 Crisis
The New International Terrorism
A New Request for Support
The Israeli Raid on Beirut and the May Crisis
The Aftermath 5. Reckoning Postponed: From the October War to the Civil War
The October War and the Start of Negotiations
Lebanese Domestic Politics after the October War
Diplomacy on the Rocks
6. Disturbing Potential: The United States and the Renewed Conflict
The Outbreak of Conflict
The Military Cabinet and Syrian Mediation
Sinai II and the Resumption of Violence in Lebanon
The January Cease-Fire 7. Reluctant Interveners: The Red Line Agreement and Brown’s Mediation
The Constitutional Document and Shifting Alignments
The Non-Negotiation of the Red Line
The Brown Mission and the PLO
From Election to Intervention 8. Taking Its Course: The Syrian Intervention and Its Limits
Reacting to the Syrian Intervention
Assassinations and Evacuations
The New US-Syrian Dialogue
The Second Syrian Military Offensive and the End of the Conflict
Red Line Redux? Epilogue: The Cycle Continues
