John F. Kennedy

====Middle East====
{{further|Presidency of John F. Kennedy#Middle East}}
[[File:Kennedy with Shah of Iran, 1961.jpg|thumb|left|Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] of Iran, Kennedy, and U.S. Defense Secretary [[Robert McNamara]] in the [[Cabinet Room (White House)|White House Cabinet Room]] on April 13, 1962]]

Kennedy ended the arms embargo that the Truman and Eisenhower administrations had enforced on [[Israel]] in favor of increased security ties, becoming the founder of the [[Israel–United States military relations|U.S.-Israeli military alliance]]. Describing the protection of Israel as a moral and national commitment, he was the first to introduce the concept of a 'special relationship' between the U.S. and Israel.<ref>{{cite book | title=Balancing Act: US Foreign Policy and the Arab-Israeli Conflict | publisher=Ashgate Publishing | author=Shannon, Vaughn P. | year=2003 | location=Aldershot | page=55 | isbn=0754635910}}</ref> In 1962, the Kennedy administration sold Israel a major weapon system, the [[MIM-23 Hawk|Hawk antiaircraft missile]]. Historians differ as to whether Kennedy pursued security ties with Israel primarily to shore up support with Jewish-American voters, or because of his admiration of the Jewish state.<ref>Zachary K. Goldman, "Ties that bind: John F. Kennedy and the foundations of the American–Israeli alliance: The Cold War and Israel." ''Cold War History'' 9.1 (2009): 23–58, quoting Ben-Zvi on p 25.</ref>

In December 1961, [[Abd al-Karim Qasim]]'s Iraqi government passed Public Law 80, which restricted the partially American-controlled [[Iraq Petroleum Company]] (IPC)'s [[concessionary holding]] to those areas in which oil was actually being produced (namely, the fields at [[Az Zubair]] and [[Kirkuk]]), effectively expropriating 99.5% of the IPC concession. British and U.S. officials demanded that the Kennedy administration place pressure on the Qasim regime.<ref>{{cite book|last=Little|first=Douglas|title=American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East Since 1945|publisher=The [[University of North Carolina Press]]|pages=62}}</ref> In April 1962, the State Department issued new guidelines on Iraq that were intended to increase American influence. Meanwhile, Kennedy instructed the CIA—under the direction of [[Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt Jr.]]—to begin making preparations for a military coup against Qasim.{{sfn|Gibson|2015|pp=43–45}}

The anti-imperialist and anti-communist [[Iraqi Ba'ath Party]] overthrew and executed Qasim in [[Ramadan Revolution|a violent coup]] on February 8, 1963. Despite persistent rumors that the CIA orchestrated the coup, declassified documents and the testimony of former CIA officers indicate that there was no direct American involvement.{{sfn|Gibson|2015|pp=45, 57–58}} The Kennedy administration was pleased with the outcome and ultimately approved a $55-million arms deal for Iraq.{{sfn|Gibson|2015|pp=60–61, 80}}