The Failure of American and British Propaganda in the Arab Middle East, 1945–1957

Book excerpt: Using recently declassified sources, this book provides the first detailed analysis of British and American propaganda targeting the countries of the Middle East during the years of increasing international tension and regional instability immediately following the end of the Second World War. Considering British and American propaganda within the framework of the Cold War crusade against Communism and the Soviet Union, and the developing confrontations between Arab nationalism and the West, the book investigates the central questions of Anglo-American partnership and rivalry in the period when primary responsibility for 'policing' the Middle East passed from one to the other.