what strategic political and economic interests did the us have in the middle east
History of United States–Middle East economic relations
The Middle East has been a region of geopolitical and economic significance to the world far before American involvement in the area . This was largely because the `` Middle East contained or bordered on the land bridges , passageways , and narrows -- the Sinai isthmus , the Caucuses , the Strait of Gibraltar , the Dardanelles , Bab el Mandeb , and the Strait of Hormuz -- and the sheltered seas -- the Mediterranean , the Black Sea , the Caspian Sea , the Red Sea , and the Persian Gulf -- that provided the best routes connecting the different extremities of the vast Eurasian / African continent . '' The value of being a prominent player in the region was therefore obvious to the United States as well as to several other Western powers including Great Britain and France . In addition to its pivotal geographic location in the world , the abundance of oil in the Middle East has probably played the biggest role in issues of foreign policy and international relations . The United States needed Middle Eastern oil and Middle Eastern nations needed Western capital and technology . This mutually beneficial but dependent relationship would forge strong alliances but also be the cause of harsh conflicts . 
The Middle East has been a region of geopolitical and economic significance to the world far before American involvement in the area . This was largely because the `` Middle East contained or bordered on the land bridges , passageways , and narrows -- the Sinai isthmus , the Caucuses , the Strait of Gibraltar , the Dardanelles , Bab el Mandeb , and the Strait of Hormuz -- and the sheltered seas -- the Mediterranean , the Black Sea , the Caspian Sea , the Red Sea , and the Persian Gulf -- that provided the best routes connecting the different extremities of the vast Eurasian / African continent . '' The value of being a prominent player in the region was therefore obvious to the United States as well as to several other Western powers including Great Britain and France . In addition to its pivotal geographic location in the world , the abundance of oil in the Middle East has probably played the biggest role in issues of foreign policy and international relations . The United States needed Middle Eastern oil and Middle Eastern nations needed Western capital and technology . This mutually beneficial but dependent relationship would forge strong alliances but also be the cause of harsh conflicts .
The Middle East contained or bordered on the land bridges, passageways, and narrows that provided the best routes connecting the different extremities of the vast Eurasian/African continent.''  In addition to its pivotal geographic location in the world, the abundance of oil in the Middle East has probably played the biggest role in issues of foreign policy and international relations. The United States needed Middle Eastern oil and Middle Eastern nations needed Western capital and technology.
This was largely because the `` Middle East contained or bordered on the land bridges , passageways , and narrows -- the Sinai isthmus , the Caucuses , the Strait of Gibraltar , the Dardanelles , Bab el Mandeb , and the Strait of Hormuz -- and the sheltered seas -- the Mediterranean , the Black Sea , the Caspian Sea , the Red Sea , and the Persian Gulf -- that provided the best routes connecting the different extremities of the vast Eurasian / African continent . '' In addition to its pivotal geographic location in the world , the abundance of oil in the Middle East has probably played the biggest role in issues of foreign policy and international relations . The United States needed Middle Eastern oil and Middle Eastern nations needed Western capital and technology .
The value of being a prominent player in the region was obvious to the United States, which needed Middle Eastern oil while Middle Eastern nations needed Western capital and technology. This mutually beneficial dependent relationship would forge strong alliances.
The value of being a prominent player in the region was therefore obvious to the United States as well as to several other Western powers including Great Britain and France . In addition to its pivotal geographic location in the world , the abundance of oil in the Middle East has probably played the biggest role in issues of foreign policy and international relations . The United States needed Middle Eastern oil and Middle Eastern nations needed Western capital and technology . This mutually beneficial but dependent relationship would forge strong alliances but also be the cause of harsh conflicts .