ABSTRACT
Since the First World War, oil has become an economic commodity of critical strategic importance to the balance of world power. In addition to its vital importance during war-time, oil has come to play a basic role in peace-time economic activity, especially in the post-1945 era. American strategists realized early on the importance of oil resources in general, but they were particularly interested in Middle East oil and its possible control by American oil companies. On Saturday 6 October 1973 Egypt and Syria launched full-scale military operations against Israel. Their declared aim was the liberation of Arab lands occupied by Israel during the 1967 war. The ‘oil war’ started even before the outbreak of hostilities between the Arabs and Israel in October. Saudi Arabia took a leading position in the oil war effort. The oil war was fought on three fronts: reduced oil production; embargoes, principally against the United States and the Netherlands; and steep rises in oil prices.
