Arab countries

This thesis will explore the origins of the U.S.-Israeli alliance during the Kennedy administration. John F. Kennedy provided Israel with the first U.S. weapons sale, issued the first informal security guarantee, and established the first joint security consultations between both nations. Ironically, Kennedy gave these concessions to contain Israel, not to establish closer relations. His primary objective for the Middle East was to improve U.S. relations with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, seeing Nasser as the path for gaining pro-American sentiments among the Arab population in the region to the detriment of the Soviets. Kennedy unintentionally laid the foundations of the U.S.-Israeli alliance while trying to restrain Israel, fearing Israeli actions would impede his plans. The Palestinian refugee issue, the regional arms race between Egypt and Israel, and Israel's secret nuclear weapons program became three pivotal concerns for Kennedy that unintentionally led to the U.S.-Israeli alliance.

The purpose of this paper is to bypass the generalizations surrounding the Arab democracy deficit in order to gain a better understanding of the variables that interact to produce the unusual stability and duration of Arab authoritarian regimes. A critical cross-case analysis is used to examine the Middle East's two most enduring regimes: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt. The survival of these regimes is comprehensible in terms of manipulation of Islamic precepts, control of economic development, and external support, chiefly from the United States.