United States and the Middle East since 1914

What events and circumstances have driven America’s fixation with the Middle East? In this book, Professor Salim Yaqub covers over 100 years of US involvement in and policy towards the Middle East to explain this vital geopolitical relationship.Starting with the upheavals of World War I and the first stirrings of US geopolitical interest in the region, the book describes how and why the Middle East’s location, resources, conflicts, and crises became key concerns for the United States. Topics include:* The growing centrality of Middle Eastern oil to the global economy and to US military strategy* The region’s geographic location and US efforts to combat strategic adversaries like the Axis powers during WWII and the Soviet Union during the Cold War* Israel’s cultural and political significance to American society and government* Repeated US military interventions in the region to combat anti-Western “rogue” states or militant groups launching attacks on the United States or its alliesTaking a chronological approach, the book explains how global upheavals and traumatic ruptures in the region drove US-Middle East relations over successive eras. Yaqub covers the impact of WWI, WWII, and decolonization, along with key events such as the 1956 Suez Crisis, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s, al-Qa’ida’s terrorist attacks of 2001, the Hamas raid of October 7, 2023, and Israel’s war in Gaza. Readers will better understand what motivated Washington’s involvement in the region and how that involvement shaped both the United States and the Middle East.Pitched to university students and educated general readers, the book includes photographs, political cartoons, maps, and other graphics. A selection of primary sources and a timeline of events are included on a companion website.