Locke_Mission
Locke Mission
U.S. attempt to create a Near East regional office
The Locke Mission refers to the 1951–1953 attempt by the administration of Harry S Truman to create a regional office for the Near East (encompassing much of the modern day Middle East) in Beirut, Lebanon. This office operated under the guidance of Edwin A. Locke Jr. to coordinate all aspects of United States economic policy toward the region, with a particular focus on U.S. aid. In 1951, this aid was primarily provided to Arab refugees through the United Nations Relief and Works Administration and to specific nations and social classes through the Mutual Security Program and the Technical Cooperation Administration. A variety of factors doomed the mission, the office was quickly closed down, and today the Locke Mission is primarily noteworthy as one of the first examples of a drift from bilateralism toward regionalism in the Near East.