From the Editor | Kevin Byrne | The U.S. and the Middle East | Vol 20 No 3 | May 2006

From the Editor

Kevin Byrne

It simply was not that long ago—a time when stories from or about the Middle East were not staples of news reporting in the United States. The young, or people with very short memories, can be forgiven for not knowing. In the last few years, however, America's military response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, the decision to wage pre-emptive war in Iraq, the resurgence of violence between Palestinians and Israelis, and the current volatility in oil prices have transformed the landscape of news reporting for the foreseeable future. Not, admittedly, that we can ever see very far ahead.

Looking backward, however, one observes that the lands at the eastern end of the Mediterranean have been important to U.S. policymakers, diplomats, and business persons ever since the start of U.S. involvement in World War II. The general public, meanwhile, has shown an awareness of the region in fits and starts, with periods of neglect punctuated by periods of crisis. The articles guest editor Peter L. Hahn has assembled explore this important history in abundantly clear fashion.

The Arab oil embargo that hit consumers hard in 1973, the intense and drawn-out Iran Hostage Crisis at the end of that decade, 1991's Gulf War, and the post-9/11 events—these matters fiercely concentrated public attention squarely on the Middle East. Ask anyone who endured gas rationing in 1973 or began watching Nightline when it debuted as daily coverage of the Iranian hostage issue. My own memories of those incidents are vivid. The recurrent problems related to the Arab-Israeli conflict also commanded attention, including intermittent warfare, the hostage crisis at the 1972 Munich Olympics, and several efforts made by U.S. administrations to find a workable, peaceful solution to this seemingly intractable problem. Our cover for this issue depicts one of those last-mentioned moments. In it, President Jimmy Carter welcomes Egypt's President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David, Maryland. With Carter's mediation, Sadat and Begin reached a set of accords in September, for which the two Middle Eastern leaders were subsequently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1978.

The main articles and teaching strategies assembled here are timely and provide context and thoughtful perspectives for understanding the relationship between the U.S. and the Middle East. In the process, they force us to confront the cultural assumptions American policymakers—and we ourselves—have harbored about this area of the world.

It is also true, though, that evidence of U.S. involvement with the Middle East extends back to the early years of the republic. The document from the Gilder Lehrman Collection provides a clear example. As Stephen Mintz explains in his introduction, the problems caused by the Barbary pirates in the first few decades following U.S. independence plagued Congress under the Articles of Confederation and several presidential administrations up to 1815. The document, a letter written by an American held hostage in Algiers, testifies to the lengthy if often overlooked roots of U.S. involvement in this part of the globe.

Global issues are also at the heart of Stuart M. Blumin's essay in our "America on the World Stage" series. Exploring the interrelatedness of industrialization and urban growth, he notes that the American experience was part of a much broader development, "a global phenomenon of enormous significance." Blumin focuses on the nineteenth century as the "take off" period for this transformative porcess, and his article examines the fascinating interplay between these two powerful forces. "The continuing coalescence of urbanization and industrialization," he asserts, "would constitute the most fundamental force shaping the nation's everyday life."

The final feature in this issue returns us to the theme of diplomacy, albeit indirectly. President Jimmy Carter, and now citizen Jimmy Carter, was and remains active in foreign affairs, especially in but not limited to the Middle East. The National Park Service has designated areas of his home town of Plains, Georgia, a National Historic Site. Carter is rightly proud of his background as a peanut farmer, but his life is also a tribute to his commitment to constructing a more just, peaceful world.

The Annual Meeting, 2006
The OAH Annual Meeting for 2006 took place amid mild temperatures and alternatively sunny and rainy skies in the nation's capital in late April. In the perpetual daylight of the book exhibition hall, however, Assistant Editor Susanna Robbins and I were delighted to meet many Magazine readers and to interact with many potential subscribers. Our thanks to all who stopped by the Magazine booth and shared your thoughts about this publication. We came away buoyed by the positive impressions several of you expressed and by your enthusiasm for history, whether you teach it in classrooms or through public history forums or simply share our fascination for the study of the past.

Washington, D.C., is a vibrant city for historians, in my estimation, and several factors contributed to that feeling at this meeting. While the sessions are at the heart of every Annual Meeting, the gathering's location is also an essential part of the experience. The recently opened National Museum of the American Indian on the mall was a destination for many, including both this editor and assistant editor. The tense atmosphere caused by the visit of China's President Hu Jintao, which led to heightened security as motorcades sped toward or from the nearby Chinese Embassy, accentuated the pulse of the city. And the many neighborhoods and restaurants within the District reminded visitors of the diversity of the capital, and of the nation as well.

It is always enlightening, too, to be reminded of the many backgrounds that participants bring to the OAH Annual Meeting, and to the OAH itself. Public historians, precollegiate teachers, and historians from four-year institutions, community colleges, and research universities mixed together on the program, in the audiences, and at the receptions. More than 140 people were drawn by the preconference symposium on the Teaching American History grant program. That this annual meeting was a quadrennial joint conference with NCPH undoubtedly appealed to many public historians. Several precollegiate teachers, meantime, were able to attend through the generous support of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, which provided grants to help subsidize their travel. The opportunity to attend this impressive professional gathering in Washington, D.C. undoubtedly attracted others. One of the strengths of OAH is its ability to draw upon a rich variety of talented, committed individuals who are united by their interest in U.S. history. We welcome having all elements of our membership propose and participate in sessions at the annual meeting, write for our publications, and otherwise make their voices heard. The OAH, after all, is not only for you, it is you! —Kevin B. Byrne