ABSTRACT
The Middle East has ceased to be, at least for the moment, North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) main "out-of-area" source of tension. At the root of tradition of Tensions is the fact that the "West" in the Middle East was Europe and not the United States. The main reason for a rapprochement in the region between the United States and Europe may ultimately be the feeling that what predominates is a common incapacity to really influence the course of events. The contrast between the political and military weight of the United States and the European actors is in itself a permanent source of tension. The ever-temptation of the United States to enlarge the scope of NATO to the Middle East area, to bolster the European contribution under an Atlantic flag, is a dangerous one. The European countries see a close link between the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Gulf.
