The Course and Conclusion of British and American Intervention

Abstract

Paradoxically, almost as soon as their forces were established in Lebanon and Jordan, the principal preoccupation of both the American and British Governments was how to secure their withdrawal. The reason for this was not difficult to comprehend. The Iraqi Revolution, far from being part of a grand plot to destabilize the region, turned out to be an isolated, indigenous affair. Therefore, there was little for the troops to do in Lebanon and Jordan, and, particularly in the case of the Americans in Lebanon, there was no evidence of an imminent threat to the stability of the country. The irony of the American intervention was that the US Administration was to disengage on the basis of a political settlement, which was almost exactly what Nasser had suggested during his secret contacts with the US Government in early June.