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Focusing on the attitudes and experiences of American female diplomats and spouses, this book examines the social, political, and cultural dimensions of American interactions with the Middle East and North Africa in the five decades after the Second World War. A turbulent period, marked by conflicts associated with the Cold War and decolonization, it was also characterized by changing attitudes to women at odds with those in Moslem societies. The impact of those changes is explored throughout this book, principally drawing on personal oral histories included in the 'Frontline Diplomacy' collection, but reinforced by cables passing between regional U.S. embassies and the State Department in Washington DC.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. Israel: The Crucial American Commitment in the Middle East.- Chapter 3. Saudi Arabia: Aramco; the Hajj; Female Workers-Glimpses of Yemen.- Chapter 4. Reactions to Nasser's Egypt and the Suez War of 1956.- Chapter 5. Inside Iran Before and During the 1979 Hostage Crisis.- Chapter 6. Inside Iraq Before and During the Era of Saddam Hussein.- Chapter 7. African-American Foreign Service Women.- Chapter 8. Exploring Islam and International Relations in the Post-Colonial Maghreb.- Chapter 9. Coping with Political and Climatic Challenges in the Western Sahel.- Chapter 10. Inside Chad: North-South Upheavals in the Eastern Sahel.- Chapter 11. Confronting Religious and Regional Conflicts in Sudan.- Chapter 12. Amid Middle East Turmoil: Lebanon, Syria, Israel.- Chapter 13. Reacting to Violence and Terrorism Enroute to Nine Eleven 2001.- Chapter 14. Conclusion./
