ABSTRACT
The United States recognized the importance of the region as part of a land bridge between three continents, its proximity to the Soviet Union, and it's increasingly significant contribution to the world supply of petroleum, the Gulf did not become a primary zone in US geographical planning until the 1970s. It extended direct lend-lease assistance to the Kingdom to save it from serious financial trouble caused by the wartime disruption of Saudi oil production. The United States was initially reluctant to take sides, fearing that the alternative to Mossadeq could be a pro-Soviet radical regime in Teheran. It was initially reluctant to take sides, fearing that the alternative to Mossadeq could be a pro-Soviet radical regime in Teheran. The United States, another major development during the 1970s was the emergence of a third major politico-strategic interest based upon a perceived linkage between Gulf security, Western access to oil, and a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
