Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

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Persian Gulf


Title:	Persian Gulf
Author:	Madeleine Albright (Interviewee); Richard V. Allen (Interviewee); Karen Elliott House (Interviewee); Krogh, Peter F. (Peter Frederic) (Moderator)
Abstract:	Examines America’s interests in the Persian Gulf and guidelines for U.S. policy in the region.
Description:	The Persian Gulf has long been a strategic crossroads where the interests of the world’s great powers converge, and where minor conflicts frequently have global consequences. Since World War II American ships have been patrolling the Gulf to keep the sea-lanes open and the West’s vital supply of oil flowing. Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, however, the American position in the Gulf hit a rough patch. Just months after the pro-American Shah was overthrown in Iran, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in what the U.S. saw as a flanking maneuver designed to gain access the strategic waters of the Gulf. Concerned by the turn of events, President Carter responded with a grave warning that became known as the Carter Doctrine—that an “attempt by any outside force 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.” Just as menacing to American interests in the region were Iran’s attempts to export Islamic fundamentalism, which threatened to destabilize other nations in the Gulf. In response, the U.S. began supporting Iraq in its bloody war of attrition against Iran -- not to ensure an Iraqi victory, but to prevent an Iranian one. By 1989 the flow of oil in the region had been secured, Iran and Iraq had bled each other to an impasse, and the Soviets had withdrawn from Afghanistan. Yet obstacles remained in U.S.-Iran relations, including a number of Americans being held hostage by the pro-Iranian terrorist group Hezbollah. As George H.W. Bush begins his Presidency, host Peter Krogh sits down to discuss American policy in the Gulf with Richard Allen, former National Security Advisor to President Reagan, journalist Karen Elliott House of the Wall Street Journal, and Madeleine Albright, Georgetown University professor and future Secretary of State. Together they examine American interests in the region and discuss guidelines for new administration’s foreign policy toward the Persian Gulf.
Permanent Link:	http://hdl.handle.net/10822/552642
Date Issued:	1989
Date Created:	1989
Subject:	Persian Gulf Region -- Politics and government -- 20th century ; United States -- Foreign relations -- Middle East ; Middle East -- Foreign relations -- United States ; Importance of the Persian Gulf ; Iran's Role in the Persian Gulf ; America's Interests in the Persian Gulf ; United States-Iran Rapprochement