The United States And The Middle East - 1245 Words

For much of the United States’ history, affairs in the Middle East have been an important focus. A more recent example is President Barack Obama attempting to deal with the terrorist organization, ISIS, because they are threatening the security of American allies. In the past, multiple other presidents have intervened in Middle Eastern affairs because they believe that doing so would be in the best interest of the United States. The importance of Middle Eastern affairs to the United States during the 1960s through the 1980s is apparent with President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger’s diplomacy tactics to prevent Arab-Israeli war and lift the Arab oil embargo, President Jimmy Carter’s peace negotiations during the Camp David Accords,†¦show more content†¦Edward Sheehan, the author of How Kissinger Did It: Step by Step in the Middle East, explains that â€Å"†¦Kissinger accepted and in fact helped to promote the conventional strategic wisdom of the first Nixon administration that†¦a strong Israel militarily, much superior to its Arab foes, would prevent war and serve as the surest sentinel of American interests in the Middle East† (8-9). The advantage of a strong Israeli military encouraged the United States to consistently support Israel. The Arab countries did not take this favoritism very lightly. An oil embargo was placed on the United States and that would prove to be economically disastrous. Because of the their huge reliance on oil, â€Å"the United States was especially hard-hit by the OPEC embargo, which was directed toward all supporters of Israel in its latest military conflict against neighboring Arab countries† (Hook 340). A major reason why the United States is so invested in some areas of the Middle East is due to their oil production. This encourages the United States to maintain healthy relationships in that region. Henry Kissinger also worked to improve United States’ relationship wi th Egypt through diplomacy. He created a set of rules for the United States to follow when dealing with Arab countries. In fact, â€Å"The policy was based on a quasi-alliance between Washington and Cairo—or more particularly, upon friendship between Kissinger and Egyptian President Anwar el- Sadat.