The United States And The Middle East

The role of the Middle East has been very crucial to the United States, especially after WWII. The U.S. had three strategic goals in the Middle East and consistently followed them throughout various events that unfolded in the region. First, with the emergence of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the U.S., policymakers began to recognize the importance of the Middle East as a strategic area in containing Soviet influence. This also coincides with the U.S. becoming increasingly wary of Arab nationalism and the threat it posed to U.S. influence. Secondly, the emergence of the new Israeli state in 1948 further deepened U.S. policy and involvement in the region while also creating friction between the U.S. and Arab states which were

To start, Carter says outright what his vision for America was: “...but America does want to be the world's peacemaker.” Furthermore, Carter continues with his vision for America’s peace-seeking foreign policy. He does this by talking about SALT, the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks: “The purpose of SALT, then as now, is not to gain a unilateral advantage for either nation, but to protect the security of both nations, to reverse the costly and dangerous momentum of the nuclear arms race, to preserve a stable balance of nuclear forces, and to demonstrate to a concerned world that we are determined to help preserve the peace.” By speaking about the importance of the SALT, Carter effectively laid out what his plan was to secure peace amongst nuclear-armed nations. However, at the same time, President Carter made sure to lay out what America wanted to achieve in the immediate short-term regarding foreign policy: “Our firm commitment to Israel's survival and security is rooted in our deepest convictions and in our knowledge of the strategic importance to our own Nation of a stable Middle East.” As written before, it was strategically important to the United States that they maintain the sovereignty of Israel. Specifically, after failing to intervene in China during the uprising of the KMT, it

Since his presidency did not begin with Israel becoming a state, his focus was greatly adjusted and at first there was a noticeable decline in aid and care for Israel’s wellbeing. Israel was also rather vulnerable during this time, due to the fact that there more Jewish refugees entering Israel from surrounding Arab states. President Eisenhower convincingly proved that America had the ability to influence Israel in a good way, although his presidency ended with the Middle East still in a state of war. During Eisenhower’s administration, there were two successful incidents of U.S. management of Israel and in both circumstances, Eisenhower avoided the political compulsions of America’s attachment to Israel and instead forced the Israelis to act upon principle. Unfortunately, his presidency was the last to give Israel undivided focus, for the ones to follow were absorbed in other affairs and did not provide the same constructive support.

• President Carter arranged the Camp David Peace Accords between Israel and Egypt. (In the Middle East, America favored the country of Israel. The Soviet Union favored Israel’s Arab neighbors.)

If it weren’t for his personality type, it is highly doubtful that President Carter would have acted in the manner he had. The relations between Israel and Egypt were very stilted due to Khartoum Resolution drawn upon following the Six-Day War. It was risk for the United States to become involved in such affairs but President Carter acted in the manner he felt was right and because he wanted to and this action thereby helped lead to the peace between Israel and Egypt that would come from the Camp David Accords. He was unwavering in his goal to achieve peace between the two countries and he refused to take no for an answer and eventually, an agreement was reached thanks to his insistence. Later on in life, Jimmy Carter would win a Nobel peace prize for “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development,” a part of which was credited to the Camp David Accords. President Jimmy Carter showed in this action his orientation through productiveness and his willingness to follow through. These are essential qualities of being an active-positive president, which Carter has proved to be despite the strenuous conditions that he faced

The Middle East is very important to the US. Many events have happened since our involvement with the Middle East such as the Cold War, the OPEC oil embargo, the Camp David Accords, the Persian Gulf War, and the 9/11 attacks. Over time, the US has went from focusing on containment to natural resources and then defense and safety in the Middle East and America.

Truman’s foreign policy experts sought American-Arab friendship as a barrier against Soviet influence in the Middle East and as a means to secure access to Arabian oil.

During the time of the Cold War, the Red Scare was increasing in the US. American citizens were very xenophobic and didn’t like Soviets. Meanwhile, the President of the US, Richard Nixon, was in investigation of Alger Hiss, a government official who was accused of being a soviet spy. As a member of HUAC in 1948-1950, Nixon took a leading role in the investigation of Alger Hiss, spy for a Soviet Union (Britannica 2). In addition, US was involved in the Yom Kippur War, a war between Egypt and Israel. Americans were on Israeli side, providing them with weapons and troops, which angered Arabs. The Arab leaders stopped the shipment of oil to the US, which led to US embargo of 1973. Furthermore, US was in a war with Vietnam, which is known as Vietnam War. The author stated, “Democrat Hubert H. Humphrey called for an end to the bombing of Northern Vietnam” (Britannica 4). US tried to find a peaceful way to end and solve the conflict with Vietnam without any casualties. After all, these wars led to a crisis in America, including shortage of gas and oil. As can be seen, during the this time period of OPEC embargo of 1973, US was involved in few conflicts with other nations, which resulted in the crisis of oil and gas in the

They did this by implementing the Eisenhower Doctrine after the crisis at the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal crisis was was the Israelis, British, and French tried to take control of the area around the Suez Canal. This prompted the United States to create the Eisenhower Doctrine in order to maintain relations and interests in the Middle East. It states that it would “ . . . authorize the United States to cooperate with and assist any nation or group of nations in the general area of the Middle East in the development of economic strength dedicated to the maintenance of national independence.”

Background: In the midst of the Cold War and the Arab-Israeli conflict, conflict arose over Gamal Abdel Nasser’s nationalization of the Suez Canal. This was of particular concern due to Nasser’s increased connection with the Soviet Union, through the Czech Arms agreement and the Aswan Dam. Following Nasser’s nationalization of the Suez Canal, Great Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt. In facing this crisis, the U.S. had to consider Cold War politics with the Soviet Union, relations with Arab and Israeli nations, and relations with the invading powers

Conflict over energy resources—and the wealth and power they create—has become an increasingly prominent feature for geopolitics particularly in the Middle East . The discovery of oil in the late nineteenth century added a dimension to the region as major outside states powers employed military force to protect their newly acquired interests in the Middle East. The U.S.’s efforts to secure the flow of oil have led to ever increasing involvement in the Middle East region’s political affairs and ongoing power struggles. By the end of the twentieth century, safeguarding the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf had become one of the most important functions of the U.S. military establishment. The close relationship between the United States and the Saudi royal family was formed in the final months of World War II, when U.S. leaders sought to ensure preferential access to Saudi petroleum. The U.S. link with Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region has demonstrated to be greatly beneficial to both parties, yet it has also led to ever deepening U.S. involvement in regional politics.

The United States has had some international issues with Middle Eastern countries in the past. It goes without saying; the most recent is the current gulf war led by George W. Bush and of course the previous gulf war led by his father George H.W. Bush. With neighboring Iran, there have been quarrels such as the Iran-Contra affair. This involved a political scandal in which Ronald Reagan's administration sold military arms to Iran. At this time they were in the midst of the Iran-Iraq War, while the United States had hostages held in Lebanon by Hezbollah. The United States hoped that Iran would influence Hezbollah to release the American hostages, but didn't. Finally, with Saudi Arabia also part of the Middle East, the United States

The cover page of this TIME magazine, an issue of 1979 invoked purely the orientalist idea of the Middle East. It represented the faulty equation of Islam= Muslim= Arab= terrorist or religious fanatics.

The United States has been involved in the affairs of the Middle East for decades and they’ve had various reasons for being there, whether it was to wage war or to prevent outside influence that would undermine their own influence in the region, it always seemed to revolve around one thing: oil. As we all know, oil is a very profitable resource and it’s a huge part of many nations’ economies and because this is the case many wars are fought over this black liquid. The U.S. is no different in that they did just about anything to maintain their access to Middle East oil. As a result, United States actions in the Middle East today has been formed through the decades long desire for their oil.

After doing quite a bit of research I’ve come to the conclusion that Egypt’s relationship with the U.S. is heavily reliant on Egypt’s relationship with Israel and it’s involvement with the peace process. It’s all linked. Egypt has been a supporter of peace in the Middle East and especially in Israel. Egypt always tried to convince Israel that peace was possible and could very well last (“Egypt’s Role”). Taking into account it’s long history of support for peace, and it being a crucial ally in the Middle East peace process, Egypt is crucial to the security of Israel.