Overview

Crisis and Crossfire traces the origins of the contemporary challenges facing the United States in the Middle East by analyzing the broad contours of U.S. policy in the region since the government’s first involvement there in the 1940s. Peter L. Hahn evaluates U.S. policy in the context of such global phenomena as the Cold War and the multipolar international order that emerged in the early 2000s. He explains how the United States has tried, with varying degrees of success, to curtail, modify, and channel Arab and Iranian nationalist movements to serve U.S. interests. Crisis and Crossfire examines the U.S. approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict through eight decades, exploring the interstate wars of the 1940s–1980s, the quests to make peace in the 1970s–2010s, and the enduring strife between Israel and Palestine. Hahn details how the United States has assumed growing responsibility for regional stability and security in the Middle East since World War II, culminating in involvement in the Gulf War to liberate Kuwait and the invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. This second edition provides an objective explanation of the Israeli-Palestinian Gaza War; the U.S. stand-off with Iran; the proxy wars in Lebanon, Yemen, Libya, and Syria; the threat of terrorism; and related topics.

Full Product Details

Author:   Peter L. Hahn
Publisher:   Potomac Books Inc
Imprint:   Potomac Books Inc
Edition:   Second Edition
ISBN:  

9781640125773

ISBN 10:   1640125779
Pages:   336
Publication Date:   20 April 2025
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Note on the Second Edition Acknowledgments Introduction List of Abbreviations 1. National Security: The Genesis of U.S. Involvement in the Middle East 2. Into the Middle of a Fight: The United States and the Arab-Israeli Conflict to 1961 3. Tumultuous Decades: Nationalism and Counterrevolution, 1950s–1960s 4. Unending Controversy: The Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1961–1989 5. Revolution, War, and Terrorism: The Middle East at Center Stage, 1970s–1980s 6. Peace Process: The U.S. Approach to the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1990–2009 7. Escalating Conflicts: The Gulf War, the Menace of Terrorism, and the Invasion of Afghanistan, 1990–2006 8. War of Choice or War of Necessity? The Invasion and Occupation of Iraq, 2001–2009 9. The Retreat from Peace: Israel, Palestine, and the Arab World since 2009 10. Mirage: The Pursuit of Middle East Security in the Early 2000s Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

“Crisis and Crossfire is a balanced and measured tour through the U.S. encounter with the Middle East since 1945. A survey with a point of view, it is interpretive without being polemical. The new chapters are marked by comprehensive coverage, evenhandedness, and true insight into both regional actors and U.S. policymakers.”—Mary Ann Heiss, author of Fulfilling the Sacred Trust “Crisis and Crossfire provides near-encyclopedic details about the U.S. involvement in the Middle East in the past eighty years. With evenhanded analysis, Hahn lets readers draw their own conclusions. This is just the kind of book we need right now.”—Douglas Little, author of American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East since 1945

Author Information

Peter L. Hahn is Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of History at Ohio State University. He is the author of seven books on the history of U.S. diplomacy in the Middle East, including Missions Accomplished? The United States and Iraq since World War I.    

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions