Sparks Commentary: Forgotten battlegrounds of the Cold War: North Africa and the Middle East

If there's ever been a peaceful period in Muslim history, the Cold War was not that period …

If there's ever been a peaceful period in Muslim history, the Cold War was not that period. During this period, the Muslim world was something of a battleground, in which the Islamic countries were pawns in a great superpower chess game. The Muslim world encompasses many places – among them South Asia, which actually has more Muslims than North Africa and the Middle East combined. But they do not form a majority in this broader region of South Asia. By contrast, around 90% of North Africa and the Middle East are Muslims, and the same is actually true of Central Asia as well. Since I discuss Central Asia in another blog post about the Soviet war in Afghanistan, I will not do so here. And since I have discussed the South Asian part of the Cold War in another blog post, I will not do that here, either. Here, I will just discuss the traditional power centers of the Muslim world, which are North Africa and the Middle East. Many (but not all) of these conflicts would involve the new state of Israel as well.

An Egyptian artillery piece captured in the First Arab-Israeli War, 1948

Background on the creation of the state of Israel (1948), and First Arab-Israeli War (1948)

But first, some background on how the state of Israel was reborn in the twentieth century. During World War One, the Middle East had been a major battleground. To a lesser extent, so had many parts of Africa, including North Africa. Among other things, this war had seen the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, which would later inspire the 1962 movie “Lawrence of Arabia.” In 1917, the “Balfour Declaration” had announced British support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. This was the beginning of the Zionist movement. Later on, there was a Second World War, in which North Africa briefly became a battleground itself at the beginning of the conflict. To a lesser extent, there was also fighting in a few other parts of Africa, and in the Middle East. The Nazis and their allies invaded it, but were soon kicked out by the Allied forces – some of whom retained some “colonial ambitions” of their own. In Europe, the Nazis engaged in mass genocide against many peoples – including, and most prominently, the Jews. Two-thirds of the Jews of Europe were wiped out in this systematic campaign, which lives on in infamy as the “Holocaust.” Because of this, the West felt that there was a need to create a Jewish state in the Middle East, and thus created the state of Israel in 1948 – something that would have great importance for the broader Middle East. The Arab nations thus tried to destroy the “Jewish state” almost immediately, in the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. The participating Arab nations included Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria. But Israel survived the war with all of them, and thus won the First Arab-Israeli War.

Jewish residents of Jerusalem Old City fleeing during the Jordanian offensive, 1948

Backtrack in the chronology: Iran crisis (1946)

Now I must backtrack in my chronology a bit. During World War Two, the British and Americans had been allied (somewhat ironically) with the Soviet Union. During that time, they had actually used Iran as a transportation route to send vital supplies to their Soviet allies. Iran was then jointly occupied by both the British and the Soviets. The Allied forces agreed to withdraw from Iran by six months after the war's end. But when the deadline came in 1946, the Soviet troops were still there, and they then had no intention of leaving. They supported a rebellion against the Iranian government, which temporarily created two separate states. These were the People's Republic of Azerbaijan, and the Kurdish Republic of Mahabad. These engaged in fighting with Iranian forces, which had support of their own from the British and Americans. But negotiations by the Iranian premier, along with major diplomatic pressure from the United States, convinced the Soviet Union to withdraw from Iran. This was a major victory for the “Truman Doctrine” of containment. The states of Azerbaijan and Mahabad were disbanded soon after this.

Military parade in Tehran in celebration of Azerbaijan capitulation, 1946

Turkish Straits Crisis, which causes Turkey to join NATO and to receive Marshall Plan aid

Elsewhere in the Middle East, Turkey received some assistance from the Americans as part of the Marshall Plan – the only Middle Eastern country ever to receive Marshall Plan aid. The Soviet Union also pressured Turkey to allow them to send their ships through the Turkish Straits, but Turkey refused at this time. The Soviets thus responded with a show of naval strength in the region, which caused the Turks to feel somewhat threatened. Thus, Turkey turned to the United States for assistance, and responded by joining “NATO” (short for the “North Atlantic Treaty Organization,” a major military alliance primarily involving European nations). At the time that I write this, Turkey is actually the only Middle Eastern country ever to join NATO.

Map showing location of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits

Iranian coup d’état (1953), orchestrated by the United States and the United Kingdom

In 1953, the United States and the United Kingdom orchestrated a coup d’état in Iran. The administration of President Harry Truman had opposed such a coup, but the administrations of President Dwight Eisenhower and British prime minister Winston Churchill were both approving it. Prior to this, the parliament of Iran had actually voted to nationalize Iran’s oil industry, which was seen as a step on the road to communism. As it turned out, this hurt some British interests in Iran, but the British were worried about far more than just this. Fearing a communist takeover, the British and Americans thus overthrew the democratically-elected prime minister of Iran. This strengthened the position of the “Shah” of Iran, who was a sort of Iranian king. The Shah relied heavily upon the support of the CIA to hold on to power. The CIA funded pro-Shah riots, an armed takeover of Tehran, and bribed many Iranian military and political officials (including security officials), among other things. The propaganda did its job, and the Shah would hold on to power for another 26 years.

Pro-shah sympathizers – Iran, 1953

Second Arab-Israeli War, known as the “Suez Crisis” (1956)

One of the saddest episodes of this time involved a Second Arab-Israeli War. Known today as the “Suez Crisis,” it began when Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956. Israel responded by invading the Egyptian Sinai, and attempting to overthrow the Egyptian president Nasser. The British and the French soon called for a ceasefire, but then sent troops to help the Israelis. It quickly became apparent that these three nations had planned this well in advance. But the United States and the Soviet Union both put pressure on the British and French (not to mention the Israelis) to withdraw from Egypt. Among other things, President Eisenhower threatened to sell the U. S. government’s pound sterling bonds, and thus destabilize the British financial system. These threats led to a withdrawal by the British, the French, and the Israelis. Historians have long concluded that this “signified the end of Great Britain's role as one of the world's major powers.” British prime minister Anthony Eden resigned over the fiasco in the Suez. The Suez Canal was closed for about five months afterwards. Nonetheless, Israel had attained some of its original objectives, such as freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran. These straits had been blocked to Israeli shipping for the previous six years.

Damaged Egyptian tank and vehicles – Suez Crisis, 1956

Third Arab-Israeli War, which was the “Six-Day War” (1967)

Israel repeatedly warned Egypt afterwards that if it blocked the Straits of Tiran to the Israeli vessels, this would be a cause for war. Thus, when Egypt did precisely that in 1967, Egypt mobilized troops along its border to prepare for the oncoming war. In June of that year, there was thus a Third Arab-Israeli War, sometimes called the Six-Day War. Israel attacked the Egyptian airfields, and destroyed most of the Egyptian air forces on the ground. Israel lost very few of its own forces, and gained total air supremacy in this conflict. Simultaneously with this, Israeli forces conquered the Sinai. Some of Egypt's allies – namely, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq – had agreed to keep Israel busy in the event of war, but soon found that Israel was conquering their territory as well in response. There was a ceasefire soon after, and the Israeli territorial gains were thus tacitly recognized for about a month afterwards. For example, Israel gained the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. This was a great victory for Israel, and a disaster for the Arab world.

Map of the military movements and territorial changes during the Six-Day War of 1967

Israeli tanks advancing on the Golan Heights – Six-Day War, 1967

“War of Attrition” lasts from 1967 to 1970

A month after the Six-Day War ended, the War of Attrition began in 1967. Egypt, Jordan, and Syria again fought against Israel, though without the support of Iraq this time. But this time, they were actually joined by the Palestine Liberation Organization, Fidel Castro's Cuba, and (most importantly) the Soviet Union. Hostilities soon resumed along the Suez Canal. There were artillery shelling, extensive aerial warfare, commando raids, and small-scale incursions into Sinai. The war ended three years later in 1970, with the borders being the same as they had been before the War of Attrition.

King Hussein after checking an abandoned Israeli tank, in the aftermath of the Battle of Karameh, 1968

“Yom Kippur War” (1973), with a standoff between the two superpowers

In October 1973, another war began on the holiest day in Judaism, which was Yom Kippur. Thus, it is sometimes known as the “Yom Kippur War.” For Muslims, it was during the holy month of Ramadan. The Soviet Union did not participate in this war, but it did supply the Arab side with weapons. There were also far more Arab states fighting against Israel this time around. This, along with a sort of Israeli complacency after their previous victories, may have been part of why the Arab states actually gained ground early in the conflict. But there was a difference this time, which was that the United States was supplying the Israeli side with weapons this time around. This would lead to a tense confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. When Soviet ambassadors were talking early on about intervening in the conflict, American nuclear forces went on high alert; but the Soviet Union quickly abandoned these plans for intervention. With the support of the Americans, Israel soon retook the ground that it had lost earlier on in the conflict. A first ceasefire between the two sides quickly unraveled, but a second ceasefire fared somewhat better. In 1978, the Camp David Accords (the brainchild of Jimmy Carter) led Israel to abandon the territory that it had gained in the Six-Day War. But in return, Egypt recognized Israel – the first Arab country ever to do so. Egypt continued to drift away from the Soviet Union, and eventually left their influence altogether.

An Israeli M60 Patton tank destroyed in the Sinai – Yom Kippur War, 1973

“Ogaden War” between Ethiopia and Somalia (1977 to 1978)

Now I will leave the Arab-Israeli conflicts of the Cold War, and talk about a Cold War conflict in the Horn of Africa instead. In previous parts of the Cold War, the United States had been supporting Ethiopia, and the Soviet Union had been supporting Somalia. But things changed when there was a sort of regime change in Somalia, and the Somalians started to break somewhat with the Soviet Union. Thus, the Soviets opposed Somalia when it invaded Ethiopia in 1977, attacking a disputed Ethiopian region in the Ogaden desert. Thus, this conflict is sometimes called the “Ogaden War.” Ironically, the United States was now backing Somalia, which had previously been allied with its Soviet enemy. Thus, each of the two superpowers had switched sides in this region, supporting the very African nations that they had earlier been opposing. The Soviets did not want to send their troops to fight directly in Ethiopia, but they did agree to finance Fidel Castro's Cubans when they entered the conflict on behalf of Ethiopia. It was the only time that the Cubans would officially act as Soviet proxies during the Cold War. Because of the Soviet and Cuban support, Ethiopia actually won the Ogaden War in 1978, and retained its territories in the Ogaden desert. Somalia thus broke all ties with the Soviet Union, and soon entered into a revolution at home. At the time that I write this, Somalia is still embroiled in civil war.

Ethiopian territory occupied by Somalia, 1977

Iranian Revolution ousts Shah of Iran (1978 to 1979)

Finally, I will cover the Iranian Revolution of the late seventies for a moment. In 1978, there was a revolution against the last Shah of Iran, the same man who had been installed by the United States and its allies in the earlier coup d’état of 1953. After things got a bit hot for him, the Shah fled the country, and allowed the Ayatollah Khomeini to take his place. Iran then became the “Islamic Republic of Iran” in 1979, and a country with a theocratic constitution. Because the revolution ended in 1979, it is sometimes dated to that year, instead of the year when it began (which was 1978). I will not cover the Iran hostage crisis here, since I have done so in another post, as background for a discussion of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, this was another important event, which merits some attention from the popular historians.

A revolutionary firing squad – Iranian Revolution, 1979

Conclusion: The Muslim world and its neighbors were major battlegrounds during the Cold War

In conclusion, the Middle East was a major battleground during the Cold War. As you may know, part of Egypt is in the Middle East, while most of it is in North Africa. But when you include Egypt, North Africa was also a major battleground in the Cold War, and operations there also included the “Ogaden War” mentioned earlier. The Islamic countries were often pawns in the great superpower chess game of the Cold War; along with countries like Ethiopia, Somalia, and Israel. Of the Muslim countries, Turkey may still be the one with the closest connections to the West, as it has long been a part of NATO (the West's primary military alliance). But the Muslim world is still a tumultuous place today, which continues to have a major influence upon world affairs. The free world thus cannot afford to ignore it, and they could not afford to ignore it during the Cold War.

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The Cold War