The political openness of the United States of America towards Iraq during the administration of President Jimmy Carter 1977-1981

Abstract

The interest of the United States of America in Iraq goes back to the end of the nineteenth century during the Ottoman rule, after American interests began to reach the Arabian Gulf region and West Asia, and after the end of World War I and the decline of Iraq under British occupation, the principles of American President Wilson, calling for the right to self-determination, came to give a positive image. The Iraqi people expressed concern about the United States at that time, and American interest in Iraq was crowned by the first American diplomatic representation in Baghdad in 1931. This was followed by the outbreak of World War II and the subsequent start of the Cold War, which made Iraq and its strategic location a source of interest for the United States to maintain its interests. Since then, relations between the two countries continued until the establishment of Israel in 1948, when tension began to dominate relations due to American support for it. Factors contributed to the growth of that tension, including the 1948 war and the continuation of American support for Israel until 1967 witnessed the severing of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The two countries, after President Carter arrived at the White House in 1977 and in view of the change in political circumstances in the region, especially after the conclusion of the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel and the general direction of American policy in the Middle East calling for calming the situation in the region for fear of the outbreak of a new war targeting Israel similar to what happened in 2017. In 1973, the American administration tried to open diplomatic channels with the countries opposing it, most notably Iraq. There were serious attempts from the top of the American administration and official circles to resume diplomatic relations between the two countries, but new circumstances arose in the region, most notably the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq war, so that these attempts failed.