The middle east and the cold war - Essay Example

The Cold War and the Middle East The Cold War between the Soviet Union and America, whichpersisted for nearly half a century, created a polarized world with countries and political parties divided in their support for the two superpowers. The Cold War, which began in a couple of years following World War II, began as a result of several war time suspicions and events that transpired between the Soviet Union and America in their joint battle against the Nazi Germany. The Middle Eastern countries also played a crucial role during cold war as it became a center of interest to both the Soviet Union and America.

The Middle East, owing to its strategic geographical location and abundant energy resources, particularly oil reserves, played a crucial role even during World War II. Despite the imperialistic presence of Britain in the Middle East at the time of the Cold War, the United States also wanted to establish its superpower status in the Middle East (Khalidi). Following the decline of British and French political forces in the Middle East in the years after the World War II and beginning from the 1950s, the two superpowers namely the Soviet Union and America sought to establish their authority in the region.

The United States through the Truman Doctrine protested the Soviet and communist influence in the Middle Eastern regions of Greece and Turkey and volunteered to help restrict Soviet actions in the regions. This was soon followed by other doctrines such as the Eisenhower Doctrine that focused on the conflicts between the Arab’s and Israeli’s and the Nixon Doctrine which resulted in the Persian Gulf policy that ensured regional stability in the Gulf following threats from the Soviet Union. During the Carter Administration, the President wanted to end the Arab-Israeli conflict and sought the help of the Soviet Union to play a constructive role in the process.

The cooperation with the Soviet Union was one of the highpoints of the Carter administration which also included the joint issue of a statement that stressed the need for a permanent settlement between the Arab’s and Israeli’s. It also called upon a reconvention of the Geneva conference (Reich and Gotowicki). Following the undertaking of the Sadat initiative by the American government to resolve the Arab-Israel conflict, the Carter administration turned its focus on the Gulf region which by then has witnessed several events such as the Iranian revolution, issue of American hostages and the invasion of the Afghanistan by the Soviet.

These events raised concerns about the true intentions of the Soviet Union in the Middle East. This coupled with the increasing demand for oil resources resulted in regional tensions and instability in the Middle East. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was the turning point in the relations between America and the Soviet Union as America began to view the invasion as a threat to the Persian Gulf region and the Arabian Peninsula. This alteration in the relations between the two super powers resulted in the Carter Doctrine which focused on the developments in the Gulf region and the United States formerly announcing that it would deploy all forces including military action to protect the Gulf from the potential threat by the Soviet Union.

The Reagan administration that followed the Carter rule held a fundamental assumption that the Soviet was in fact an important threat to the Middle Eastern peace compared to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Reagan rule focused its efforts on the Gulf region and Afghanistan. In the latter region, America provided support to the Afghan rebels who fought to oust the Soviet forces from the Middle Eastern region. the Reagan administration also called for a strategic consensus from the regional states of Pakistan, Egypt and others in its fight against the Soviet threat.

Through this initiative America also expanded its sales of arms and weapons to countries that were cooperative in its action against the Soviet threat. The American initiatives in the Gulf region did nothing to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict and following the war in Lebanon, the Reagan administration introduced the Fresh Start initiative to resolve the conflict. The Soviet Union was seen as a negative hindrance to the American efforts as it objected to roles and policies set by the US. The rivalry between the super powers continued till the early days of the Bush administration following which the roles played by the two countries were reviewed through the initiatives taken up by Gorbachev.

The Soviet and United States later reached a point of significant agreement and agreed to reach a comprehensive settlement following the crisis in Gulf (Reich and Gotowicki). Works citedKhalidi, Rashid. “Introduction: Rethinking the Cold War in the Middle East” Sowing Crisis, 1-11. n.d. Web. 13 May 2014. http://www.beacon.org/client/pdfs/0310_ch1.pdf.Reich, Bernard and Gotowicki, Stephen H. “The United States and the Soviet Union in the Middle East” FMSO Publications. n.d. Web. 13 May 2014.

http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/ussovme.htm