From Truman to Trump:

What Has Happened to US Policy in the Middle East?



Friday, February 22, 5pm

Merten Hall 1201

George Mason University





This lecture traces the history of American entanglements in the Middle East since World War II, emphasizing the unusual extent to which the region enters American presidential politics, posing unanticipated, and often unwelcome, policy dilemmas and political challenges. From Israel’s declaration of independence, to the Suez War, the ‘67 and ‘73 wars, the oil price shocks, the Iranian revolution, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, and the Arab Spring, the Middle East has produced trials for virtually all US administrations. Today the problems center on ISIS, Syria, and the roles of Russia, Iran, and Turkey as rivals for US influence. What does this history tell us about the US, and about the Middle East, over the seventy-five years?

Please join us for the reception directly following the event! Drinks and food will be served.



Professor Lisa Andersonis former President of the American University in Cairo, and Dean of the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. A specialist in the politics of the Middle East and North Africa, she has been president of the Middle East Studies Association and served on the board of Human Rights Watch and the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs. She is now James T. Shotwell Professor Emeritus of International Relations at Columbia.