The Great Divide: World War II

From the beginning, the American government had followed a conscious and usually consistent policy in the Middle East confined to protection of its rights and those of its nationals, while avoiding political involvement or responsi bility in what was regarded as primarily an area of European interest and maneuver. During World War II we did become significantly involved, but since this activity consisted almost exclusively of logistical support of the British war effort, its importance and significance attracted relatively little atten tion. Soon after the war, however, we were drawn into the area, not as a matter of fulfilling some national objective, but in our role as a world power in a situation where the weakened British were no longer able to play their traditional role, but where the Russians were heavy-handedly aggressive. In the current situation in which the Middle East looms as an area of numerous and complex crosscurrents, it can be useful to look back to the little-publicized background of how we initially became involved and, in so doing, be able to assess present problems in better perspective.