Why the Middle East is so important to the US - BBC World Service

For almost a century the US has been present in the Middle East in one way or another. Over the decades friends have become foes, enemies have become allies and America often seems to be right in the middle of it all. Through diplomacy deals and even boots on the ground, the United States has asserted itself as a significant player in the region but why is that exactly?

The Middle East is a resource rich region spanning Western Asia and Northern Africa. Its strategic position on the world map means it often plays an important role in the foreign policies of other countries, including the United States. Way back in 1938 a Californian owned oil well in Dhahran, eastern Saudi Arabia drilled into what would soon be identified as the largest source of petroleum in the world.

Oil has become the cornerstone of the global economy and that meant a huge strategic importance. By 1945 the Americans had built an Airfield in Dhahran, the first US base on Middle Eastern soil. Many think that the United States is primarily interested in the Middle East because of oil but the United States is actually self-sufficient when it comes to oil, it doesn't need this oil from the Middle East.

In 2022, the US was the world's leading oil producer generating over 30% more than the second largest, Saudi Arabia. It's a matter also of controlling other countries access to oil and that applies to Western countries of which the United States is the overlord and also a strategic competitor like China which also depends on oil from the Middle East. Beyond this liquid gold the Middle East is also a key market for American arms manufacturers.

In 2023 the US made a record $238 billion selling military equipment to foreign governments. Making up over 40% of global arms sales that year. I think it's simplistic to reduce the United States alliances with countries in the Gulf for example to just money.

With arm sales the US is also buying influence in the region. Israel has been the largest cumulative recipient of US aid since the Second World War and most of this can now only be used to buy US military equipment. These alliances are about strategic power.

So to really influence this location the US needs friends. Allies of the United States in the Middle East have ebbed and flowed. Over the decades some allegiances are more formal than others.

For example Turkey is a Nato member so in theory the US must defend it if it's ever attacked. Other allies have sprung out of power struggles in the region. The Middle East was a major theatre of the Cold War in the confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Russia has intervened significantly in the Middle East in the 21st Century and maintains a military presence in conflict zones such as Syria. Russia acquired the reputation of a country upon which you can rely if you have any kind of despotic regime. Any withdrawal of the United States creates a vacuum that is filled by the other contending powers.

In that case, Russia. I come to Israel with a single message. You are not alone.

America's commitment to Israel is unparalleled and has been since the state's creation in 1948. The US feels a sense of responsibility towards the state of Israel and that is to do of course with the consequences and the scenarios that happened during World War II. In fact President Harry Truman was the first to recognise Israel as a legitimate Jewish state only 11 minutes after the new nation was proclaimed.

The US feels that it has a right to protect the Jewish people who had been promised that they would have a homeland in the Middle East. American presidents have also continually spoken of the shared values between the US and Israel when discussing their so-called special relationship. But the union is not just ideological.

The US has been a key player in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians since the early '90s and despite the dramatic ups and downs any future settlement will very likely be sponsored by the United States. But it's not just Israel and Saudi Arabia. Today the US also enjoys close ties with countries such as Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt.

It might be difficult to imagine but in the mid 20th Century the US considered Iran to be one of its closest allies in the region. Aside from a CIA-orchestrated coup which ousted Iran's first democratically elected leader Mohammad Mossadeq in 1953. The role the United States played in overthrowing democratically elected governments to fight anything left-wing, left-wing nationalism, Soviet influence, communist parties, all this had a huge impact on the future not only of the Middle East but of the world.

But since 1979 when Iran became an Islamic Republic following a bloody revolution the two states have been fierce enemies. Iran has emerged as the major challenger of the United States and its hegemony in the region. However the picture is more complicated than that.

The United States has played a role in several wars across the Middle East but one stands out for experts as the most important intervention of them all. My fellow citizens, at this hour American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger. If we look back at the history of US interventions in the Middle East I would pick the invasion of Iraq in 2003 that the US led with the UK as the most significant in modern times.

Following the deadliest attack in American history in 2001 the United States declared a global war on terror. Our war on terror. And focused its sight on the Middle East.

Begins with Al-Qaeda but it does not end there. President Bush claimed the military action in Iraq was to find so-called weapons of mass destruction, combat terrorist organisations like Al-Qaeda and free the Iraqi people from Saddam Hussein's authoritarian regime. However Al-Qaeda, the group behind the September 11 attacks had no affiliation with Iraq and were actually based in Afghanistan.

And it was never proven that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The occupation of Iraq was a terrible fiasco. During the height of the occupation in 2007 there were almost a quarter of a million US troops deployed in the region.

One of the major consequences of the invasion of Iraq of 2003 is that it unleashed terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda not just in Iraq but also more widely in the region. Just three years after withdrawing from Iraq the US returned leading a coalition to combat the self-styled Islamic State Group which emerged from the instability following the US invasion. However in recent years there has been limited appetite among American citizens to have boots on the ground in the Middle East.

And that's why the United States has been mostly now developing its remote warfare means, a huge resort to drones, missiles and the rest. That being said the US still maintains a presence in many countries in the region acting as a partner for some Gulf States in the face of national security threats. The Middle East is home to strategic global shipping lanes including the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and Suez Canal.

Following the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war, Houthi fighters in Yemen took aim at ships traveling in the Red Sea. Meaning many rerouted to sail around Africa, a much longer journey, increasing prices despite US interventions to prevent these attacks. The United States has installed itself as the world policeman.

When it comes to its engagement in the Middle East it has a responsibility to maintain security and stability in the region and elsewhere. And it may be because of this that many can't see a future for the Middle East without the US involved in one way or another. But for some it all comes down to one thing.

Power. Let me tell you something. The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth.

The whole global system since the 20th Century and especially after the Second World War was one in which the United States tried to secure a dominant position. It is impossible to imagine a future for the Middle East without a role for the United States. The United States has a responsibility to contribute to stability and security in the world.