Beyond the blank cheque: Arming iran during the ford administration

McGlinchey, Stephen; Moran, Andrew

Abstract

© 2016 Taylor & Francis. When President Gerald Ford decided tomaintain and deepen arms relations with Iran, he cemented a momentum that became near impossible for a successor to break by continuing the policy of his predecessor Richard Nixon. Nixon had given the Shah of Iran a "blank cheque" to purchase whatever American arms he desired- short of nuclear weapons. Although Ford’s authority would be challenged by members of his own Administration and a Congress seeking to claw back some of its authority, the need to support allies in the Middle East against the threat of the Soviet Union, even during a time of détente, remained paramount.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 16, 2016
• Publication Date: Jul 2, 2016
• Deposit Date: Aug 5, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 2, 2018
• Journal: Diplomacy and Statecraft
• Print ISSN: 0959-2296
• Electronic ISSN: 1557-301X
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 523-544
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2016.1196074
• Keywords: Iran, Gerald Ford, Richard Nixon, Shah, arms trade, Cold War, US Foreign Policy
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/921513
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09592296.2016.1196074
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Diplomacy and Statecraft on 02 August 2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09592296.2016.1196074
• Contract Date: Aug 5, 2016