What drove western intervention in the Middle East during the Cold War?

Résumé du document

The Middle East was one of the most covet zones in the past century. Located at the crossroad between western nation, the "Third World" and the communist bloc, it played a strategic role during the colonial era, the Second World War and mainly during the cold war. Because of its immense natural resources, especially oil and gas, and of the growing up of the consumer society, all foreign interventions in the Middle East were lead by national interest and a policy of influence. Looking back at its historical background, we find that the Middle East already had close relations with the Western countries before the Cold War, as after the Sykes Picot treaty, Britain and France were both given large areas of the middle east taken from the defeated Turks, to look after as mandates (Syria and Lebanon for France, Iraq and Jordan for England). There were also some economical alliances with the United States existing before the Cold war area, such as the Red Line Agreement in 1928 and the Anglo American petroleum agreement in 1944, which show that, in the wake of WWII, newly exploited oil and pressure from American commercial interests were the major motives for Washington's involvement in the area. What were the motivations which lead the Western countries to such an important commitment? What influence did the Cold War have on Western intervention? Which consequences for the Middle East might be drawn out from those actions?

Extraits

[...] The first western intervention was the controversial creation of the state of Israel. As John Mearsheimer & Stephen Walt pinpoints it in The Israel Lobby and the Us Foreign Policy, The US interest's interests in backing Israeli state wasn't a moral or religious one. It was more about having a foothold in the Middle East to control and impose its influence, but also to have profound effect on the balance of Power. In fact, in the 1980s, relations with Israel were limited but the USA proposed diplomatic help in 1982 with the Camp David's peace agreement as an ill-disguised attempt to appease Israel and bring it back under American direction. [...]

[...] The western countries have always showed a lively commitment to preserve its interest in the Middle East. France and Britain, for instance, were ready to scarify large amount of money and many soldier's lives to preserve their colonies or interests in the middle east. The Suez Canal crisis well illustrates the fact that economical interests had to be defended to any mean. Also the bloody Algerian war with France from 1956 to 1958 exemplifies western countries determination to enrol into military confrontation to secure its national interest France had colonial interests in Algeria which provided gas and oil. [...]

[...] In an attempt to safeguard oil interest and strategic routes, the Western countries, and especially the United States, started weaving ambiguous alliance with oil monarchies. Saudi Arabia as always been the number one oil supplier of the USA; without the oil that Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf producers supply, WE and Europe would have never achieved the spectacular economic growth they posted in the post war area, or sustain the great armies it deployed in every theatre of the Cold War. [...]

[...] Unlike other Cold war battle field such as Vietnam, the economical goal and the vital need of Arabic natural resources overtook on the ideological fight for influence. However, as Kepel pinpoints it in his books Jihad and Fitna, the western interference in the Middle East during the Cold War and afterward had profound repercussions on the post Cold War area until Nowadays. It gave light to Western hatred and growth of terrorism in the Middle East, which had terrible repercussion on the present society such as the 11/9 and terrorist attack in Madrid and London. [...]

[...] Churchill reacted to this intervention declaring can't have this malicious swine sitting across our communications”. However, the United States didn't support British, French and Israeli attack; afraid of upsetting all the Arabs and forcing them into closer relations with USSR, the USA condemned the assault. The Suez crisis is a good example of Cold War logic: it pinpoints how the USA prefers to go against two countries of her own than tacking the risk of losing some potential ally or client. [...]