Middle East American Culture

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The Middle East is a region that has sparked indisputable interest through the eyes of foreigners. Why is the middle East so fascinating? For the West especially, the Middle East is representative of foreign concepts, traditions, ideologies and mindsets. When speaking of the Middle East it is not unusual to hear Americans especially refer to our relationship with the Middle East in “us” vs. “them” terminology. What brings about such verbal distinctions? Perhaps the foundations upon which our countries are built are responsible for such conceptual division. American culture is often associated with freedom of religion, separation of church and state, capitalism, economic prosperity, and acting often as the police of the world in regards to foreign issues. In contrast, the Middle Eastern culture can be described to be centered upon…show more content…
As illustrated during the Yom Kippur War with Israel in 1973, the Middle East ( OPEC) obtains the potential to utilize oil as a means of political manipulation in order to force compliance of a foreign power with the demands of their countries. In this instance oil was used against the United States as a means of curtailing US support to Israel. The vulnerability of the United States pertaining to oil consumption is evidenced through the implementation of the Carter doctrine in 1980. The Carter doctrine sufficiently dictates actions to restrict American access to oil from the Persian gulf would be viewed as an attack on America’s “vital interests” and would be met with military force if such were required. Since this doctrine’s adoption in 1983, the United States has enforced such through the naval protection of Kuwait following the Iranian attack of their tanks during the Iran- Iraq war and then again in 1990 when H. W. Bush’s ordered military action be taken to protect the Saudi-Arbaian oil
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