The Three Kings Summary

Three Kings The rise of an American Empire in the Middle East after World War II by Lloyd C. Gardner details American polices procedures and post-World War II. This includes the Monroe doctrine, the Iran Oil Crisis and the six day war, as well as the interpretation and scare tactics of communism. The Three Kings are not often referred to in the book, however the term refers to the three major powers in the Middle East, President Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, of the United States, England and the Soviet Union respectively. Gardner writes about the American maneuvers to take over as the leading power in the Middle East to replace England after they are forced out.

The main theme in the book was the influence of American foreign

policy in the Middle East, this was shaped by the Truman doctrine on March 12th 1947. As it was interpreted by Gardner the Truman doctrine was not to force the Russians out of Eastern Europe but to project the united states power globally after World War II, in addition to this the announcement was made to replace England in the middle east, likely to take control of the imperative resource in the area, oil. The importance of oil and the notion of international communism increased the interest of the United States to establish a more involved presence in the Middle East, argues Gardner.
Communism is identified as an excuse to establish military ties in the area, further Egypt Iran and Iraq are identified as nations with political relationships with the United States.

The Iran Oil Crisis was identified as significant due to the political ramifications, Gardener speculates that Iran was played by the United States, this was speculated to be the reason behind the Islamic revolution of 1979. The influence of the Ba’athists also proved to be a scare tactic utilized in the American influence in the Middle East resulting in Iranian occupation. Gardner states the notion of communism was a driving factor in American military intervention in the Middle East specifically Iran, this intrigues me as I think there is more to that then fear of different ideologies. I feel it is likely more to do with resources available and domination of other powers in the area, in route to become the one true power in not only the Middle East but the

world.
The American Israeli relationship proved imperative as Gardner points out the importance of arms trade between the nations and speculates the United States silently encouraged the Israeli attacks during the third Arab Israeli war, it’s speculated the Americans encouraged the Israelis to find an excuse for the attack and make it happen. This sounds accurate and ties in perfectly to what we have been discussing in class, as Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein the Egyptian president believed the United States had been actively assisting the Israelis, although this wasn’t proven and Nasser apologized to the United States, it is still widely believed to be true, and has been further supported by American pilots.
I truly enjoyed this read, Lloyd C.

Gardner provided an in depth account of the American involvement and foreign policy as it relates to post World War II Middle Eastern relations. I thoroughly enjoyed the comparisons to previous occupations of Middle Eastern countries by Russia and England that had previously gone poorly, and the perspective provided by Gardner that tied in directly to our class, involving the Arab Israeli war. Everything discussed on the war by Gardner was backed up by our discussions in class, therefore I believe he is certainly qualified to write about Middle Eastern politics and foreign relations. The American influence in the Middle East was not all negative witch is refreshing based on current relations with countries in the Middle East and the public perception on our involvement. Even with the positives discussed in this book I hope we can take the advice of Gardner and take care of our own relations before we try to “help others” I do not believe we are currently in a position to do so therefore we no longer have the luxury to stay. In closing remarks Gardner discusses the game of chess between super powers or as they are discussed in the text “the Three Kings” for domination of the world. I view this as an irresponsible habit that needs to end immediately, this can only result in a negative way, as history has shown unnecessary involvement in foreign affairs results in a

graveyard.