ABSTRACT
Struggles for power in the greater Middle East are influenced by major nation-states that lie outside the region. The United States, Russia, and China each have important strategic interests in the greater Middle East while nation-states inside the region look to outside powers to bolster their positions in regional competitions for power. Throughout the cold war the United States was especially concerned with political-military moves by the Soviet Union in the greater Middle East. American policy toward the region was always viewed as an appendage of Washington’s policy of containment against the Soviet Union.
