ABSTRACT
The starting point for most discussions of superpower involvement in Middle East disputes is usually the extent to which the United States and the Soviet Union have been drawn into or have imposed themselves on the regional conflicts. This chapter examines superpower involvement in the Middle East from a somewhat different perspective. Both North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Warsaw Pact rely upon a "triad" of strategic nuclear, theater/tactical nuclear, and conventional forces to secure their interests in Europe. At the tactical nuclear level, NATO and Warsaw Pact deploy an array of nuclear-armed weapons for use against opposing naval forces. NATO first established a Mediterranean command in 1952, when Lord Louis Mountbatten of Britain was designated Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Mediterranean. Mountbatten was to direct the operation of British, French, Italian, Greek, and Turkish maritime forces in the event of war.
