Transcript The Middle :East

The Middle East:
Turbulence and Instability
Arab-Israeli Conflict
• Middle East covers
from Morocco to
Turkey as well as
countries that border
the Red Sea, Gulf of
Aqaba, and the Persian
Gulf
• Important to its
strategic location and
its enormous supply of
oil.
• All major world powers
try to have influence in
the region
Jewish Homeland
• May 14, 1948 Israel
became a country
• Created out of Palestine
• The displacement of
Palestinian Arabs has
never been resolved
• Zionism – the belief of
the creation of a Jewish
homeland
• Balfour Declaration of
1917 pledged British
support of the creation
of a Jewish homeland
• Gained momentum
with the realization of
the Holocaust
Arab – Israeli War: 1948
• Arab nations tried a
quick strike attack
trying to gain advantage
over a new country
• Arabs outnumbered the
Israelis but weren’t as
well-trained or armed
• Israelis got arms from
Czechoslovakia (from
USSR)
• Even though the Soviets
supplied the Israelis the
Arab nations blamed
USA due to the fact that
they helped create the
state of Israel
• From this point on
USA/Israel and
USSR/Arab relationships
were mostly the norm
• Results:
– Increased tension between the Arabs and Israelis
– Loss of Arab territory
– Refugees settling in West Bank, Gaza Strip increased
tensions
Suez Crisis
• Nasser took power in Egypt on
July 23, 1952
– Wanted to modernize Egypt's
economy
– Build up the military to fight the
Israelis
• July 26th, 1956 Nasser
nationalized the canal taking
Egyptian control
• British, French, and
Israelis devised a plan
to take control of the
Suez Canal (kept it
secret from the
Americans)
• Oct. 26/56 Israelis
attacked the Sinai
• Nov. 5/56 French and
British joined in
• Resolution:
– USA got the UN involved
– UN:
•
•
•
•
Got a ceasefire
Withdrawal of all troops
Peacekeeping force present
Negotiated by Lester B. Pearson, who won the Nobel Peace Prize
• Results:
– Canal damaged not used until repaired
– British and French lost prestige
– Israelis had military victories, but withdrew under American
threat of economic sanctions
– Nasser a hero in the Arab world
The Six-Day War
• Syria, Jordan, And Iraq
joined Egypt mobilizing
against Israel
• These countries
threatened to cut off oil
supply to any country
that aided Israel
• June 5, 1967 the Israeli air force struck first
– Resulting in the Egyptian air force being destroyed and Syrian
and Jordan troops decimated
– Israel gained the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and the Golan
Heights
The Yom Kippur War: 1973
• Oct. 6, 1973 Egyptian
and Syrian forces
launched a surprise
attack on Israel
• At first Israel suffered
heavy losses; after two
weeks Israel counterattacked and
threatened Damascus
and to cross the Suez
The Camp David Accord
• USA’s President Carter
offered economic
support to Egypt and
Israel in exchange for
peace in between the
two countries
• Egypt regained the Sinai
Peninsula and
established diplomatic
relations between the
two countries
• Egypt could turn to
domestic issues and
Israel increased their
national security
• Other Arab nations
denounced the treaty
Unresolved Issues
• PLO continued guerrilla
raids against Israel
• Over 3 million
Palestinian refugees still
displaced
• West Bank occupation
by the Israelis
• OIL – OPEC controlled
the flow of the world’s
oil supply
Iran – Iraq War
• Both countries wanted
hegemony in the region
• Both wanted to control
the exporting of oil in
the region
• Causes:
– Iraq wanted to
overthrow the Ayatollah
Khomeini
– Establish Iraq as the
dominant country power
in the Persian Gulf
Results of the War
• 8 year war devastated both
countries
• USA built-up their navy
• Iran’s industry and oil
production was crippled
• Both countries in debt
• Both sides used chemical
weapons
• Iraq launched a program to
develop nuclear weapons
The Gulf War: Build-up of Tensions
• Iraq accused Kuwait of
over-producing oil, thus
causing the price of oil to
drop
• Iraq wanted to be the
most powerful country in
the Middle East
• U.S. Ambassador gave no
response to Iraq – Kuwait
issues
• Aug. 2, 1990 Iraq invades
Kuwait
• November 29, 1990
U.N. Security Council
approved all necessary
means to secure the
freedom of Kuwait
• Diplomatic negotiations
failed, then in January
1991 Operation Desert
Storm began
Operation Desert Storm
• When allies finally
began their ground
assault they found very
little Iraqi resistance
• Defeat produced
internal problems. Shi’a
forces in the south and
Kurdish groups in the
north challenged the
government.
Environmental Warfare
• 1.1 billion litres of crude
oil dumped into the
Persian Gulf
– Clean-up didn’t begin
until after the war ended
• Oil wells started on fire
resulting in poisonous
gases filling the air
Super Power Involvement in the
Middle East
• Neither superpower
could claim
overwhelming success
in the area
• Though the U.S. Has
had more success than
the Soviets
American Policy
• Goals:
– Contain Soviet influence
– Retain access to oil
resources
– Limit Arab radicalism
– Maintain Israel's security
and well being
Soviet Policy
• Main Concerns:
– Maintaining the security
of their southern
borders
– Rivalry with Americans
in the area
– Inability to promote
communism in Islamic
areas
Palestinian – Israeli Conflict
• Oct. 13, 1993 Yassir Arafat and
Yitzhak Rabin accepted the
conditions of the Oslo Peace
Accord
• In 1994 Palestinians returned
to Gaza Strip and West Bank
• As leadership changed
acceptance of the accord
waned
• Problem has yet to be resolved