America’s Great Game: The CIA’s Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East

385 Pages·2013·3.43 MB·English

by  Hugh Wilford

A L L I S O N
(continued from front fl ap) historY wilford $29.99 Us / $34.50 cAn
destabilized the nations with which they empathized. their
8/6
PDF KM PE
efforts, and ultimate failure, would shape the course of Us– AdVAnce prAise for
“A gripping account of how America’s best and brightest,
A m e r i c A’ s
middle eastern relations for decades to come. A m e r ic A’ s gr e At gA m e A with the best of intentions, lost the Arabs and iranians at the 8/6
Based on a vast array of declassifi ed government records, PDF CG AUTHOR
start of the cold War. An outstanding book, more relevant 9/10
private papers, and personal interviews, America’s Great Game m
today than ever.” —EugENE rogAN,
tells the riveting story of the merry band of CIA offi cers AC
“Fascinating and authoritative. Hugh Wilford has written a lively, witty account of the CIA’s escapades in the author of The Arabs: A History
whose spy games forever changed Us foreign policy. Middle East during the late 1940s and 1950s. Wilford uses the colorful life stories of cousins Kim and Archie e
g r e A t g A m e
roosevelt—and their fellow covert operator miles copeland—to explain America’s troubled historical F CH
r rom the 9/11 attacks to waterboarding to drone
relationship with israel and the modern Arab world. this book is both an entertaining biography and a
strikes, relations between the United states and
ground-breaking piece of critical history.” —KAi Bird, co-author of American Prometheus: The Triumph
i NC
the middle east seem caught in a downward spiral.
and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer and author of Crossing Mandelbaum Gate: c
And all too often, the central intelligence Agency has
Coming of Age Between the Arabs and Israelis, 1956-1978
The ciA’s secret ArAbists and the made the situation worse. but this crisis was not a historical CG
A
inevitability—far from it. indeed, the earliest generation
“Filled with rich anecdotes and unbelievably larger-than-life characters, Hugh Wilford’s book is long
’
shAping of the modern middle eAst of ciA operatives was actually the region’s staunchest LH
overdue. readers have long been familiar with britain’s ‘great game’ in the 19th century to control
s
western ally.
central Asia, but America’s ill-fated gamesmanship to control the middle east is equally riveting

and star-crossed. Using newly available archives, Wilford tells the dramatic story of romantically in America’s Great Game, celebrated intelligence historian SW
g
pro-Arab American intelligence operatives who, paradoxically, laid the groundwork for an America hugh Wilford reveals the surprising history of the ciA’s
h
mit despised in the region and involved in an endless series of wars. this makes America’s Great Game pro-Arab operations in the 1940s and 50s by tracing the
y-s r TB
ntle more than a great adventure story; it’s the missing backstory to an ongoing foreign policy tragedy.” work of the agency’s three most infl uential—and colorful—
e
y b —iAN JohNSoN, pulitzer prize–winning New York Times correspondent and author of e offi cers in the Middle East. Kermit “Kim” Roosevelt was the
m
A A Mosque in Munich: Nazis, the CIA and the Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the West grandson of Theodore Roosevelt and the fi rst head of CIA TJK
©
A
covert action in the region; his cousin, Archie roosevelt,
hugh wilford is a professor of history “From the grim vantage of our own era, it is easy to forget—or startling to learn for the fi rst time—that was a middle east scholar and chief of the beirut station. DL
t
at california state University, long beach, and author the ciA’s interactions with the middle east began on a more hopeful basis, and were often spearheaded the two roosevelts combined forces with miles copeland,
of four books, including The Mighty Wurlitzer. he lives in by individuals who strongly sympathized with the political aspirations of Arabs and muslims. through a maverick covert operations specialist who had joined the
CB
long beach, california. exhaustive research, keen insight, and vivid and witty prose, hugh Wilford brilliantly recreates the g American intelligence establishment during World War ii.
lives and milieus of the adventurers, scholars, policymakers, and polemicists who forged America’s With their deep knowledge of middle eastern affairs, the
6.25” x 9.5”
A
covert relations with the countries and peoples of the middle east. Without romanticizing their three men were heirs to an American missionary tradition S: 1-1/4”
B: 1-1/16”
exploits, or overlooking their moments of hubris, obtuseness, and insensitivity, Wilford helps us
that engaged Arabs and muslims with respect and empathy.
m
see the world as they saw it and, perhaps, better understand the world they made. this is collective Yet they were also fascinated by imperial intrigue, and were BASIC
HC
biography at its best.” —SAliM YAQuB, University of california, santa barbara, author of
eager to play a modern rematch of the “Great Game,” the
e
Containing Arab Nationalism: The Eisenhower Doctrine and the Middle East nineteenth-century struggle between britain and russia for 4/C, PMS 8964
C Metallic, PMS
control over central Asia. despite their good intentions, these 8001 C Metallic
$29.99 US / $34.50 CAN “Arabists” propped up authoritarian regimes, attempted
FINISH:
Jacket design by nicole caputo ISBN 978-0-465-01965-6
52999 secretly to sway public opinion in America against support Spot gritty
Jacket photograph © Archibald roosevelt
over PGS mylar
for the new state of israel, and staged coups that irrevocably
papers / library of congress A member of the perseus books group w/ PGS mylar
hugh w ilfor d
www.basicbooks.com showing on front
9 780465 019656 (continued on back fl ap) type and image
More Advance Praise for
America’s Great Game
“America’s Great Game is an epic story of how the American search for
adventure and idealism contributed to coups and counter-revolutions
in the Middle East. Drawing on extensive research, Wilford explains
the rise of the CIA, the tortured American relationship with Arabs and
Jews, and Washington’s Cold War complicity with British imperial in-
terests. What makes this book most enthralling is that the author builds
the story around the grandsons of Theodore Roosevelt. This is a valu-
able history and a fascinating read—a true page-turner.”
—Jeremi Suri, Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs,
University of Texas at Austin, and author of Liberty’s Surest Guardian: American
Nation-Building from the Founders to Obama
“This is a great book: well written with compelling details, good stories,
and impressive use of primary evidence. It is tied together by a first-rate
thesis that will make people think again about the Middle East.”
—Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, author of In Spies We Trust: The Story of Western
Intelligence
99778800446655001199665566--tteexxtt..iinndddd aa 99//1199//1133 99::2299 AAMM
99778800446655001199665566--tteexxtt..iinndddd bb 99//1199//1133 99::2299 AAMM
AMERICA’S
GREAT GAME
99778800446655001199665566--tteexxtt..iinndddd ii 99//1199//1133 99::2299 AAMM
99778800446655001199665566--tteexxtt..iinndddd iiii 99//1199//1133 99::2299 AAMM
AMERICA’S
GREAT GAME
The CIA’S SECRET ARABISTS and the
SHAPING of the MODERN MIDDLE EAST
Hugh Wilford
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
New York
99778800446655001199665566--tteexxtt..iinndddd iiiiii 99//1199//1133 99::2299 AAMM
Copyright © 2013 by Hugh Wilford
Published by Basic Books,
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No
part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information,
address Basic Books, 250 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10107.
Books published by Basic Books are available at special discounts
for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations,
institutions, and other organizations. For more information,
please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus
Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA
19103, or call [phone], ext. 5000, or e-mail special
[email protected].
Designed by Pauline Brown
Typeset in 11 point Stempel Garamond LT Std by
the Perseus Books Group
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wilford, Hugh, 1965–
America’s Greatest Game: the CIA’s Secret Arabists and the
Shaping of the Modern Middle East / Hugh Wilford.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-465-01965-6 (hardcover)—ISBN 978-0-
465-06982-8 (ebook) 1. Middle East—Relations—United
States—History. 2. United States—Relations—Middle
East—History. 3. Arab countries—Relations—United
States—History. 4. United States—Relations—Arab countries—
History. 5. United States. Central Intelligence Agency I. Title.
DS63.2.U5W49 2013
327.73056—dc23
2013029982
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
99778800446655001199665566--tteexxtt..iinndddd iivv 99//1199//1133 99::2299 AAMM
For
JONATHAN
99778800446655001199665566--tteexxtt..iinndddd vv 99//1199//1133 99::2299 AAMM
I meant to make a new nation, to restore a lost
influence, to give twenty millions of Semites the
foundations on which to build an inspired dream-
palace of their national thoughts.
—T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1922)
I had formed a beautiful and gracious image and I
saw it melting before my eyes. Before every noble
outline had been obliterated, I preferred to go; in
spite of my love for the Arab nation and my sense
of responsibility for its future, I did not think I
could bear to see the evaporation of the dream
which had guided me.
—Gertrude Bell to King Faisal of Iraq (1922)
99778800446655001199665566--tteexxtt..iinndddd vvii 99//1199//1133 99::2299 AAMM
Contents
Abbreviations ix
Dramatis Personae xi
The Arab World in 1947 xvi
Preface xix
Part One Pre-Game, 1916–1947
ONE Learning the Game 3
TWO Beginning the Quest 17
THREE OSS/Cairo 31
FOUR Great Game Redux 42
FIVE Zion 54
SIX The Guest No One Invites Again 66
Part Two Warm-Up, 1947–1949
SEVEN Game Plan 77
EIGHT The Right Kind of Leader? Syria, 1949 94
Part Three Winning, 1949–1956
NINE American Friends of the Middle East 113
TEN In Search of a Hero: Egypt, 1952 133
ELEVEN Mad Men on the Nile 146
—vii—
99778800446655001199665566--tteexxtt..iinndddd vviiii 99//1199//1133 99::2299 AAMM