This paper will examine the US-UK relationship through the prism of two key military interventions in the Middle East after the Suez debacle; Jordan in 1958 and Kuwait in 1961. It will argue that the 1956 crisis led the UK to acknowledge that its international power was in decline and that future interventions in the region would always require American acquiescence. Having learned these lessons, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan endeavoured to use Jordan and Kuwait as a means to realign US-UK policy in the region, believing that he could use US means for UK ends. 

Dr Louise Kettle is an Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham. She specialises in UK foreign policy specifically in relation to the Middle East. Her recent book Learning from the History of British Interventions in the Middle East examines how the FC(D)O, MoD and intelligence agencies learn from their experiences in the region and she is currently researching the history of UK-Iranian relations.