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Support Any Friend: Kennedy's Middle East and the Making of the U.S.-Israel Alliance
They were three of the most memorable figures of the twentieth David Ben-Gurion, Israel's indomitable founding father; Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser, the charismatic Arab nationalist; and the young and dynamic John F. Kennedy. Now Warren Bass illuminates these three
extraordinary men and their diplomatic struggles at the height of the Cold War, offering stunning new insights into the origins of today's Middle East.
The Kennedy period, Bass writes, was no "mere place-marker between Suez and the Six Day War, between the martial frostiness of Dwight Eisenhower and the Texas warmth of Lyndon Johnson." He shows how Kennedy sought greater influence in the Arab world, offering more foreign aid and a new
diplomatic overture to Nasser, the Arab world's leading radical. For a while, Kennedy and Nasser engaged in a rich personal correspondence. But the rapprochement was cut short by Nasser's impulsive intervention in Yemen's civil war, which led Kennedy to deploy fighter jets in Saudi Arabia as a
warning to Egypt. Meanwhile, Kennedy made the first major U.S. arms sale to Israel, providing it with advanced Hawk anti-aircraft missiles--a crucial policy shift that marks the origins of America's alliance with the Jewish state. But Kennedy also feared that Israel would get the bomb and demanded
that Ben-Gurion open his secret nuclear reactor to U.S. inspectors, leading to a grave confrontation. Ultimately, Israel agreed to inspections--but continued its nuclear weapons program under the cover of intense secrecy.
Drawing on meticulous research, Warren Bass paints a fresh, elegant portrait of the pivotal presidency that helped create the modern Middle East.
extraordinary men and their diplomatic struggles at the height of the Cold War, offering stunning new insights into the origins of today's Middle East.
The Kennedy period, Bass writes, was no "mere place-marker between Suez and the Six Day War, between the martial frostiness of Dwight Eisenhower and the Texas warmth of Lyndon Johnson." He shows how Kennedy sought greater influence in the Arab world, offering more foreign aid and a new
diplomatic overture to Nasser, the Arab world's leading radical. For a while, Kennedy and Nasser engaged in a rich personal correspondence. But the rapprochement was cut short by Nasser's impulsive intervention in Yemen's civil war, which led Kennedy to deploy fighter jets in Saudi Arabia as a
warning to Egypt. Meanwhile, Kennedy made the first major U.S. arms sale to Israel, providing it with advanced Hawk anti-aircraft missiles--a crucial policy shift that marks the origins of America's alliance with the Jewish state. But Kennedy also feared that Israel would get the bomb and demanded
that Ben-Gurion open his secret nuclear reactor to U.S. inspectors, leading to a grave confrontation. Ultimately, Israel agreed to inspections--but continued its nuclear weapons program under the cover of intense secrecy.
Drawing on meticulous research, Warren Bass paints a fresh, elegant portrait of the pivotal presidency that helped create the modern Middle East.
- GenresMiddle EastNonfiction
360 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 13, 2025
When did the US begin its special alliance with Israel and how did it come about? The answer can be found in Support Any Friend: Kennedy's Middle East and the Making of the U.S.-Israel Alliance by Warren Bass. Bass, who was later picked to work on the 9/11 Commission, reveals that Israel became a close ally of the US during the Kennedy Administration, when diplomatic overtures to Egypt never quite succeeded in forming a strong relationship with that country.
A brief history of the creation of the Jewish state and how it was viewed by Presidents Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower is summarized in Chapter One of this book. Then in the rest of the book Warren Bass brings to light all the behind the scenes diplomatic activities involving President Kennedy, Dean Rusk, McGeorge Bundy, Walt Rostow, David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Shimon Peres, Jamal Abd al-Nasser, Anwar al-Sadat, and a host of others during the 1961-1963 years of the Kennedy Administration. His extensive research of existing documents and interviews with people who participated in making the history of our Israel relationship impressively establishes that the Kennedy Administration was the first administration to veer away from a neutral approach to the Middle East. This occurred, according to Bass, because Egypt's Nasser rebuffed many diplomatic attempts to establish closer ties between Egypt and the United States, and came about despite Kennedy's growing concerns over Israel's project to build nuclear weapons at Dimona, a topic also covered in the book.
Anyone interested in how the US-Israel special relationship materialized would be well served in reading this book. It is an impressive and interesting study of the events that began the current US approach to Israel and the Middle East.
A brief history of the creation of the Jewish state and how it was viewed by Presidents Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower is summarized in Chapter One of this book. Then in the rest of the book Warren Bass brings to light all the behind the scenes diplomatic activities involving President Kennedy, Dean Rusk, McGeorge Bundy, Walt Rostow, David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Shimon Peres, Jamal Abd al-Nasser, Anwar al-Sadat, and a host of others during the 1961-1963 years of the Kennedy Administration. His extensive research of existing documents and interviews with people who participated in making the history of our Israel relationship impressively establishes that the Kennedy Administration was the first administration to veer away from a neutral approach to the Middle East. This occurred, according to Bass, because Egypt's Nasser rebuffed many diplomatic attempts to establish closer ties between Egypt and the United States, and came about despite Kennedy's growing concerns over Israel's project to build nuclear weapons at Dimona, a topic also covered in the book.
Anyone interested in how the US-Israel special relationship materialized would be well served in reading this book. It is an impressive and interesting study of the events that began the current US approach to Israel and the Middle East.
November 4, 2018
A fascinating look at the start of the US Israel alliance though I would argue and I think this book actually inadvertently supports the idea that the alliance actually started under Johnson and not Kennedy
March 23, 2014
Insightful thesis about how the Kennedy administration's policies set in motion the strong US-Israeli relationship we know today. Bass discusses Kennedy's desire to pursue a middle ground in the Middle East, not wanting to take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but instead forced by circumstances in the region.
October 7, 2010
Excellent piece of diplomatic history.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews