The Foreign Service Journal, April 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2019 17 ... Although Peter the Great has often been cited for initiating Russian dreams of influence in the Middle East, these interests were limited to Iran, Afghanistan and Cen- tral Asia. Neither Czars nor Commissars were interested in Mesopotamia or the Nile Valley until the start of the war in Europe in 1939. Stalin and Molotov pressed Hitler and then the allies for a Russian sphere of influence “south of the Soviet Union in the direction of the Indian Ocean.” At Potsdam, Molotov demanded “bases in the Medi- terranean for its merchant fleet,” and a “trusteeship” for Libya. All of Russia’s demands were refused, however, and the Montreux Convention of 1936 still regulates traffic in the Black Sea straits and there are no Soviet bases in the Mediterranean. The British withdrawal from Egypt in the 1950s gave Moscow its first opportunity in the Middle East. Khrushchev adopted a more moderate line toward “Third World” countries, including a policy of collaboration with “bourgeois nationalism” of the Nasser type. The Arabs were developing a more forward policy of “neutralism” at the same time, allowing for rapproche- ment with the Soviet bloc. This led to arms deals with Egypt in 1955 which were followed by the establishment of economic and technical missions. The same pattern took place in Syria in 1956 and Iraq in 1958. Nevertheless, the Soviet intervention in Hungary in 1956 made a greater impact on the Arab political mind than millions of dollars of Soviet economic and military aid. Moreover, the instability and unreliability of Arab governments and their leaders caused the Soviets to proceed deliberately. This delicate balance was shat- tered by the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which opened up new military and economic opportunities for the Soviets. —Melvin A. Goodman, from“Rus- sia and the Middle East in the Wake of the Mediterranean War,” FSJ , April 1969. Goodman, a former Woodrow Wilson Fellow, was at the time of publication writing his dissertation on U.S. recognition of the Soviet Union in 1933 for Indiana University. 50 Years Ago Russia and the Middle East There are more NATO-related events and writings to come. The Democratic and Republican House and Senate leadership has invited NATO Secretary- General Jens Stoltenberg to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress on April 3 in honor of the anniversary. And the NATO Secretary-General announced plans for a summit of the leaders of the 29 member-states in London in December to mark the 70th anniversary. Ambassador Tracker: Checking In on Appointments A FSA keeps a close eye on appoint- ments for senior officials and ambassadors. Here is where the situation stands as of early March. The Trump administration has to date made 137 ambassadorial appointments. Of those, 70, or 51 percent, are career members of the U.S. Foreign Service and 67, or 49 percent, are political appointees. This is an unusually high number of politically appointed ambassadors at the midpoint of an administration. Since the Gerald Ford presidency, career Foreign Service officers have made up 70 percent of ambassador appointments on average. Notably, 28 of the 137 appointees have yet to be confirmed by the Senate. The diversity of the ambassador picks has also come under some scrutiny. According to media reports, only 15 of the appointees are non-Caucasian and