The Arabists: The Romance of an American EliteFree Press, 1993 - 333 pages Here is the untold story of an inbred, gifted, and powerful elite of families and friends who dominated America's relations with the Middle East for over a century. Known to Foreign Service colleagues as "the Arabists", these were the men and women who had spent much of their lives, usually with their families, living in the Arab world as diplomats, military attaches, intelligence agents, and educators. Descended from the missionaries, scholars, and explorers who first ventured into the region - an offshoot of the WASP elite that ruled America during the nineteenth century - the Arabists were an exclusive caste linked by complex social, institutional, and family ties. Thoroughly at home in Arab cultures and often enjoying relations of longstanding intimacy with the monarchs and ruling elites of Arab countries, these American expatriates lived a charmed lifestyle that has become a source of intense nostalgia among the Arabists themselves as well as a symbol of their romance with Arab culture and increasing isolation from American society and interests. The Arabists dominated American policy and shaped our perception of the Arab world throughout the colonial and interwar periods. But after World War II, the diplomatic corps began to change, reflecting the country's new ethnic and social diversity. Kaplan describes the impact of this change within the State Department, showing how the advent of Irish Catholics, Jews, and Harvard-trained regional experts created internal pressures that slowly loosened the Arabists' grip on Middle East diplomacy in the postwar period. Drawing on interviews, memoirs, and other official and private sources, Kaplan reconstructs the hundred-year history of theArabist elite, and traces their decline against the background of this social transformation. |
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Page 89
... career was full of mistaken judgments , Henderson's judgments — the Middle East aside — were incredibly prescient . And even in regard to the Middle East , Henderson's opinions , though in some cases incorrect , are not impossible to ...
... career was full of mistaken judgments , Henderson's judgments — the Middle East aside — were incredibly prescient . And even in regard to the Middle East , Henderson's opinions , though in some cases incorrect , are not impossible to ...
Page 111
... career outside the Arab world , he is known as an " NEA type , " which is a close cousin of the Arabist . Coon calls NEA the best bureau in the State Department . " The East European people never had a riot on their hands until 1989 ...
... career outside the Arab world , he is known as an " NEA type , " which is a close cousin of the Arabist . Coon calls NEA the best bureau in the State Department . " The East European people never had a riot on their hands until 1989 ...
Page 143
The Romance of an American Elite Robert D. Kaplan. Rather than end his career as an Arabist , the posting in Israel following the one in Saudi Arabia accelerated his career to an unusual degree . Just as Roy Atherton found himself on the ...
The Romance of an American Elite Robert D. Kaplan. Rather than end his career as an Arabist , the posting in Israel following the one in Saudi Arabia accelerated his career to an unusual degree . Just as Roy Atherton found himself on the ...
Contents
Three generations Three wars Three marriages | 1 |
Dream | 11 |
Home to Lebanon | 13 |
Copyright | |
17 other sections not shown
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Akins ambassador American Arab world Arabists arrived assistant Atherton Baghdad became become began Beirut Bill Bliss born British called career Christian close College Coon culture deal Department diplomats Dodge early Egypt Eilts embassy experience explains fact force Foreign Service French Glaspie going hands head Henderson Henry Kissinger Horan House interests Iran Iraq Iraqi Israel Israeli Jewish Jews John kind King Kissinger knew known Kurds language later Lawrence learned Lebanon lived meeting Middle East military mission missionaries Moslem never officer operation Parker peace Persian political president Protestant region relations Saddam Saudi Arabia says secretary Seelye served Sisco staff Sudan Syria talk thing told turn United University wanted Washington Weaver Western Wiley writes