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Show Hinckley Journal of Politics Autumn 1998 to withdraw its forces from areas east of Suez in January 1968. This withdrawal was completed in 1971. Second, the Soviet Union made clear its interest in the Indian Ocean, including a military interest, by deploying warships there in March 1968. Third, the Vietnam War had eroded American political and public support for military intervention in regions outside the NATO area (i.e. Western Europe). During the India-Pakistan War of 1971, the United States deployed significant naval forces to the Indian Ocean to evacuate Americans from the war zone if necessary and to show its interest in the region. For regional security in the Persian Gulf, however, Washington turned to the Shah of Iran, one of its staunchest allies in the region. Iran became the object of the national security policy known as the Nixon Doctrine, originally pursued by President Richard Nixon and his National Security Advisor (later Secretary of State), Henry Kissinger. The Nixon Administration had formulated this doctrine when faced with strong opposition to direct military involvement in developing nations in order to contain Soviet expansion. The United States would supply arms and aid to nations resisting Communist expansion, such as Iran, which provided the manpower to contain such expansion. The United States began to supply Iran with vast quantities of state-of-the-art weapons, for which the Shah paid with revenues gained from oil exports. By 1973, Nixon and Kissinger had given the Shah a "blank check," the ability to buy whatever weapons he desired from the United States. This came to include sophisticated F-14 fighters, making Iran the only country other than the United States to operate this aircraft. Iran, with a large population and armed forces, provided the necessary manpower. In 1971, when Communist insurgents in Oman Dhofar region waged war against the Omani Government, the Shah sent paratroopers and military advisors to help defeat the guerrillas. This was accomplished by 1975, an indication of the Nixon Doctrine's success in the Gulf. The Shah had also proven a loyal ally in other ways. During the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, he had supported the United States, and refused to join the Arab nations in embargoing oil shipments to the United States as a result of its support of Israel. In spite of the growing Soviet naval presence in the region, and of Soviet influence in Iraq, the Persian Gulf remained stable in the 1970s. The 1973 embargo demonstrated to the United States and the rest of the developed world of their dependence on the Persian Gulf's oil supplies. American political leaders and the public contemplated this fact throughout the decade, wondering just how stable the Gulf was and if such a cutoff of oil would occur again. In 1979, both of these questions were answered. In February, Islamic revolutionaries overthrew the Shah, eliminating the main guarantor of stability in the Gulf. They also struck at the United States, seizing the American Embassy in Teheran on November 4 and triggering a crisis. In December, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, establishing a regime in Kabul that was firmly in line with Moscow. Furthermore, the upheaval in Iran had led to a reduction in its oil exports, leading to rising prices and shortages in the developed nations, just as had occurred in 1973. According to President Jimmy Carter, the existing Nixon Doctrine, which had been a bedrock of U.S. policy in the region, was outdated. Carter replaced it with his own doctrine (called, appropriately, the Carter Doctrine), which has been a key element of American national security since that time. Carter made this policy publicly known in his State of the Union Address on January 23, 1980, declaring: '"An attempt by any outside force [i.e. the Soviet Union] to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force'" (quoted in Palmer 1996, 106). This reversed the Nixon Doctrine's emphasis on arms supplies to contain Soviet expansion. Now, American troops were to be deployed in support of American interests in the Gulf. Moreover, the threat of local instability, like that which had toppled the Shah, could also elicit a U.S. military response. To back up his statements, Carter created the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), which consisted of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps units that would be sent to protect the Gulf from Soviet invaders or hostile revolutionaries. He also sought to gain access to naval and air bases in the region, and agreements were soon made with Kenya, Somalia and Oman. On the British-owned island of Diego Garcia, a significant American base in the Indian Ocean also was expanded. Ships loaded with military equipment and supplies for the RDF were stationed (or "prepositioned") at Diego Garcia as well. The Reagan Administration continued this policy, creating the Central Command to coordinate all U.S. forces in the region. The outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in September 1980 was further evidence of the vulnerability of Persian Gulf oil supplies. Both sides attacked one another's oil tankers and refineries, and soon began to hit neutral shipping as well. In 1987, Kuwait requested assistance in escorting her tankers through the Gulf. The U.S. Navy took up the task, and came into conflict with Iranian naval and air units. Several clashes occurred, as well as the tragic shooting down of an Iranian airliner by the cruiser U.S.S. Vincennes in July 1988. The Iran-Iraq War ended later that year, and relative calm returned to the Gulf. Two years later, on August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait, mainly to seize its oil supplies and gain additional revenue from petroleum sales. President George Bush responded by mobilizing a vast international coalition to confront Iraq, as well as deploying large U.S. land, naval and air forces to the Persian Gulf. Negotiations were to no avail, and on January 17, 1991, the U.S.-led coalition began military operations against Iraq. On February 24, coalition ground forces went into action, driving the Iraqis from Kuwait and destroying much of their military might. Four days later, the war came to an end. From 1991 to 1993, the Bush Administration sought to 77 |