In the formation of US policy relating to national security, two branches of government, the Executive and the Congress, are involved. Within each of these two branches there are several groups which can be identified. The Executive comprises the Administration and the Bureaucracy. The Administration includes the elected and politically appointed officials of the Executive branch: the President, Vice-President, Agency heads, Secretaries and Under-Secretaries. The Bureaucracy includes foreign and military services, and the civil servants in the bureaus and agencies.

Since the Camp David agreement of September 1978 and Egypt–Israel peace treaty of March 1979, arms flows into West Asia have been stepped up and new alignment of forces has taken place. Thus, the US has gained in influence over Egypt and this, in turn, has released new forces in the region. The Soviets too have attempted to make effective use of the developing relationship between Egypt and the United States to enlarge their own influence in the area.