ABSTRACT
Prior to World War II, official interest in the Middle East was mainly limited to the defense of commercial interests, principally oil. The Middle East assumed even greater strategic significance during the period that one US scholar has characterized as “the long peace.” Strong US support for the creation of the state of Israel and its recognition by the United Nations in 1948 forged a relationship with the eastern Mediterranean nation that has been a pillar of US policy ever since. The cold war generated requirements for access to military facilities in the region, alliance formation on the part of the United States, and transfers by Washington of military supplies to favored friends and allies. A by-product of the implosion of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the Warsaw Treaty Organization was the emergence of a new international security environment. The chapter also presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book.
