Britain and the Conflict in the Middle East, 1964-1967


Book Description

In this comprehensive study, Gat looks at British policy in the period leading up to the Six-Day War. Although Britain holds center stage in this account, the study discusses in some detail American policy and its effect on the Arab-Israeli conflict. It also focuses on the Middle East water dispute, its impact on future events, and eventually the outbreak of war in 1967. This is a fascinating look at the process by which the Middle East became yet another Cold War playground. To date, most scholars on the Arab-Israeli conflict have focused on the events of the Six-Day War, rather than on the tumultuous years prior to the war. Gat is the first to examine this turbulent yet decisive chapter in the history of the Middle East within the context of the Cold War, while making extensive use of British, American, and Israeli archives.




British Policy in the Middle East 1966-74


Book Description

Britain's role in the Middle East 1966-74 with special reference to Israel.




The 1967 Arab-Israeli War


Book Description

The June 1967 war was a watershed in the history of the modern Middle East. In six days, the Israelis defeated the Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian armies, seizing large portions of their territories. Two veteran scholars of the Middle East bring together some of the most knowledgeable experts in their fields to reassess the origins and the legacies of the war. Each chapter takes a different perspective from the vantage point of a different participant, those that actually took part in the war and also the world powers that played important roles behind the scenes. Their conclusions make for sober reading. At the heart of the story was the incompetence of the Egyptian leadership and the rivalry between various Arab players who were deeply suspicious of each other's motives. Israel, on the other side, gained a resounding victory for which, despite previous assessments to the contrary, there was no master plan.




Britain, the Six-day War and Its Aftermath


Book Description

Britain's reputation in the Middle East had been reduced to shreds by the fiasco of the Suez War in 1956 but by 1967 - as a result of quiet diplomacy and long-standing contact with the region - recovery seemed possible. But all seemed shattered by the Six-Day War and especially by the 'Big Lie' - alleging that Britain and the USA colluded with Israel in the war and were thus vital in defeating the Arab side. Britain, the Six-Day War and its Aftermath is a cool, detailed and detached account by a top mandarin at the heart of British policy who refutes the allegations and shows Britain as pursuing an even-handed policy while promoting long-standing British diplomatic and - vitally for Britain's flagging economy and global position - economic interests.




The Six Day War


Book Description




Key to the Sinai


Book Description




The Great War for Civilisation


Book Description

A sweeping and dramatic history of the last half century of conflict in the Middle East from an award-winning journalist who has covered the region for over forty years, The Great War for Civilisation unflinchingly chronicles the tragedy of the region from the Algerian Civil War to the Iranian Revolution; from the American hostage crisis in Beirut to the Iran-Iraq War; from the 1991 Gulf War to the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. A book of searing drama as well as lucid, incisive analysis, The Great War for Civilisation is a work of major importance for today's world.




Demise of the British Empire in the Middle East


Book Description

Britain emerged from World War II dependent economically and militarily upon the US. Egypt was the hub of Britain's imperial interests in the Middle East, but her inability to maintain a large garrison there was clear to the indigenous peoples. These essays track the decline of the empire.




Britain, Egypt, and Iraq during World War II


Book Description

This book explores the tumultuous war years through the lens of the British Embassies in Cairo and Baghdad, demonstrating the role that the Second World War played in shaping the political and social map of the contemporary Middle East. The war served as a catalyst for seismic changes in Arab society and the emergence of new movements that provided powerful critiques of British intervention and of the governments that facilitated it, making the war a critical turning point in Britain's empire in the Middle East.




Britain and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1948-51


Book Description

In an analysis of Britain's policy towards Palestine in the post-mandatory era, the author examines the circumstances which led to the formulation of Britain's policy - the partition of mandatory Palestine between Israel and Jordan - and the stages of its implementation. A major theme emerges: that Britain's Middle East policy was a function of two main features: Britain's close alliance with Transjordan; and its pragmatic adaptability to developments in the area. Based on primary sources made available only recently in British, Israeli and American archives, the book offers new insights into a policy which was to have far reaching-effects.