Reagan's Doctrines

Ronald Reagan’s pivotal role in reshaping norms of U.S. conduct, engagement, and intervention in the Middle East comprises a crucial and, until now, underappreciated element of his presidential legacy. Encountering a region on the cusp of political change, Reagan sent troops into warzones, secured access to oil, passed trade deals, bombed terrorist facilities, bickered with allies, sold advanced weapons, fought radical insurgents, and did much else to create the modern Middle East. He was in constant dialogue with leaders from Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other regional powers. As the most influential president of the second half of the twentieth century, Reagan employed his uncommon communicative gifts to interpret these happenings for his fellow citizens as he guided U.S. policy in the region. Reagan articulated and instituted three principles that have guided U.S. defense strategy in the Middle East for decades. These doctrines are (1) Israel is a strategic ally, (2) state-sponsored terrorism is an act of war, and (3) the United States is holistically committed to Persian Gulf security. In bringing these elements together, this book reconsiders Reagan’s inimitable legacy on U.S. politics and international affairs. Readers curious about how presidential rhetoric shapes foreign policy will find a persuasive case that Reagan did as much as any leader since World War II to cement U.S. power in the Arabic-speaking world.