Who Shall Guard the Guardians Themselves?

The history of modern strategy is to a remarkable extent the history of access to and denial of vital resources. Ever since the world oil centre has shifted to the Middle East, the United States has been seeking to ensure its influence in this region, first by means of economic, then diplomatic and finally military manoeuvering. The post-World War II recognition of the strategic significance of the Middle East and the increasing Western dependency on its oil translated into a foreign policy approach toward the area which prompted an increasing U.S. entanglement into Middle Eastern domestic affairs. The self-centred self-oriented U.S. foreign policy approach toward the Middle East called forth U.S. hegemony in this area. Besides, it compelled a number of regional and domestic accidents whose consequences are still determining the dynamic and power constellation in this area.