Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier Vitalis, Robert 1955- creator text cau Stanford, CA Stanford University Press 2007 monographic eng

print

xxvii, 353 pages, 7 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 24 cm. "America's Kingdom" debunks the many myths that now surround the United States's "special relationship" with Saudi Arabia, or what is less reverently known as "the deal": oil for security. Taking aim at the long-held belief that the Arabian American Oil Company, ARAMCO, made miracles happen in the desert, Robert Vitalis shows that nothing could be further from the truth. What is true is that oil led the U.S. government to follow the company to the kingdom. Eisenhower agreed to train Ibn Sa'ud's army, Kennedy sent jets to defend the kingdom, and Lyndon Johnson sold it missiles. Oil and ARAMCO quickly became America's largest single overseas private enterprise. Beginning with the establishment of a Jim Crow system in the Dhahran oil camps in the 1930s, the book goes on to examine the period of unrest in the 1950s and 1960s when workers challenged the racial hierarchy of the ARAMCO camps while a small cadre of progressive Saudis challenged the hierarchy of the international oil market. The defeat of these groups led to the consolidation of America's Kingdom under the House of Fahd, the royal faction that still rules today. This is a gripping story that covers more than seventy years, three continents, and an engrossing cast of characters. Informed by first hand accounts from ARAMCO employees and top U.S. government officials, this book offers the true story of the events on the Saudi oil fields. After America's Kingdom, mythmakers will have to work harder on their tales about ARAMCO being magical, honorable, selfless, and enlightened. Foreword -- Cast of characters -- Captive narratives: a brief and unexceptional introduction to the history of firms and states -- Part 1. The nearest faraway place -- Arabian frontiers -- American camp -- The wizards of Dhahran -- Part 2. Desire's empty quarter -- Ayyam al-Kadalak (days of the Cadillac) -- Eye of the desert -- El jefe rojo -- America's kingdom -- Afterword -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index. Robert Vitalis Includes bibliographical references and index. Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco) Compañía Petrolera Arabe Americana Historia Saudi Aramco Historia Petroleum industry and trade Saudi Arabia History Industria y comercio del petróleo Arabia Saudita Historia Foreign relations United States Saudi Arabia Estados Unidos Relaciones exteriores Arabia Saudita Foreign relations Saudi Arabia United States Arabia Saudita Relaciones exteriores Estados Unidos Arabian American Oil Company. HD 9576 V837a 2007 0804754462 9780804754460 DKDLA 091214 20240619194431.0 78058 eng