Sources Relating to Foreign Relations of the United States: Middle East & North Africa

Central classified files, 1950-1959.

Source: Record Group 59, Records of the Department of State, Central Files: Kuwait (86D), Muscat and Oman (86E), Qatar (86F), the Trucial Sheikhs (86G), and Yemen (86H). The internal affairs decimal numbers include: 786D.OO-786D.56; 786E.OO-786E.5811; 786F.OO-786F.11; 786G.OO-786G.5441; 786H.OO-786H.58; 886D.OO-886D.572; 886E.OOTA-886E.49; 886F.OO-886F.55; 886G.OO-886G.55; 886H.OO-886H.572; 986D.OO-986D.8294; 986E.34-986E.714; 986F.724-986F.734; 986G.OO; 986H.OO-986H.734.

The State Department Diplomatic Post Records consist of correspondence and reports from American diplomats stationed around the world. Diplomatic post records are those kept at the embassies or legations rather than those kept in Washington. Diplomatic post records contain the incoming messages from Washington, retained copies of outgoing dispatches, locally gathered information, and background material on decision making. This module includes countries in the Middle East.

This collection consists of correspondence and telegrams received and sent by the American consular post in Jerusalem. The topics covered by these records include the protection of interests of American citizens, foreign trade, shipping, and immigration. Source Note: RG 84, Records of the Foreign Service Posts of the Department of State, Jerusalem, Confidential Correspondence, 1920-1935 (All Decimal classifications); RG 59, General Records of the Department of State, Palestine, 1936-1944, Decimal numbers: 867n.00 to 867n.925

This collection consists of correspondence and telegrams received and sent by the American consular post in Beirut. The topics covered by these records include the protection of interests of American citizens, foreign trade, shipping, and immigration. But there is more to these records than traditional consular activities—the Beirut post provides a unique look into the French Mandate in Syria-Lebanon.

This collection consists of correspondence and telegrams received and sent by the American consular post in Jerusalem. The topics covered by these records include the protection of interests of American citizens, foreign trade, shipping, and immigration. But there is more to these records than traditional consular activities—the Jerusalem post provides a unique look into the British Mandate in Palestine.

The State Department’s Executive Secretariat was responsible for creating a documentary record on various International crises during the 1960s. The documents in The Cyprus Crisis, 1967 were collected and collated from a variety of State Department sources and represent an administrative history of the crisis from the perspective of the U.S. government and its foreign policy.

The Staff and Office Files contain correspondence, memoranda, and publications maintained by individual staff members and offices. A significant amount of material in this collection consists of files of the National Security Council (NSC). These documents deal with topics such as: the inspection and elimination of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction; diplomatic efforts to create the Gulf Coalition; US policy towards Iraq prior to the conflict; U.S. efforts to assist Kurdish refugees; and military operations in the Persian Gulf Theatre.

This collection describes programs (and their problems) initiated by the International Cooperation Administration and the Point Four Program in Saudi Arabia.

This collection consists of State Department records covering political events relating to the Arab-Israeli Six-Day War of 1967 and U.S. policy regarding Israel and its security. The duration of the military conflict itself was brief, but the origins of the war were complex and its impact on the Middle East region was substantial and far-reaching.

The Executive Secretariat was responsible for coordination of the work of the State Department internally, serving as the liaison between the department's bureaus and the offices of the secretary, deputy secretary, and under secretaries. It also handled the department's relations with the White House, the National Security Council, and other cabinet agencies.