The US, Israel and Lebanon: The Blue bat military operation

 During the first stage of the Cold War, one of the most important factor for the Middle East relations development was an expansion of Arab nationalism and panarabism. The politics of the new Egypt leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser, were bothering many countries, especially the USA and Israel. Nasser’s politics put at threat the US and Israeli national interests in the region. Thus the growing influence of Nasser forced the US and Israeli government get involved in Lebanon political crisis (1958). The Blue bat military operation in Lebanon became the first US military intervention in the Middle East. In this paper the author examines Lebanon crisis in the context of the US-Israeli relations by using a broad spectre of the US and Soviet open and declassified documents. The research methodology was based on principles of the new Cold War history concept. A mixed level analyses provides all factors that influence the Eisenhower administration’s decision to invade in Beirut, including international and regional atmosphere before the invasion, debates in Congress and American Jewish diaspora involvement. Special attention is paid to Israel’s role in pressing the White House to openly support pro-Western regimes in Jordan and Lebanon. The author concludes that the Lebanese crisis (1958) contributed to a further development of the US-Israeli relations. The Blue bat military invasion had a long-lasting effect on the development of the Middle East.