AJ Miles
1. Why does the United States maintain an active role in the Middle East?
a. U.S. wants to ensure steady oil flow
b. Longterm stability, having power and influence in this part of the world
c. Caught in the middle of things, trying to resolve conflicts of Israel and Arab neighbors.
2. How did World War I affect the Middle East?
a. It caused turmoil in the Middle East. Eventually it drove out Russia and the Ottoman Empire was defeated and lost control in the Middle East however the British stayed to have access to Iranian oil.
3. What was the Sykes-Picot Accord?
a. Secret agreement between Britain and France about the postwar division of the Ottoman Empire.
4. How did president Wilson’s principle of “self-determination” affect the Middle East?
a. This principle was highly supported by Arab leaders because this would give them the right to govern themselves and be freed from outside influences such as European countries having influence and control. Britain and France did not support because it would undermine the Sykes-Picot Agreement.
5. What were “mandates”?
a. League of Nations gave Britain and France authority in the countries that were not stable enough to be self-governed.
6. How did the United States become involved in the oil politics of the Middle East?
a. U.S. produced roughly 2/3’s of the oil output during WWI and following the war, oil companies encouraged finding new oil reserves overseas.
7. What was the first oil war?
a. WWII
8. Why was Saudi Arabia so important to the United States?
a. Because of their oil
9. What was Zionism?
a. Movement for establishing the state of Israel
10. What promises did Great Britain make to Arabs and Jews during WWI?
a. Balfour Declaration stating to help establish a national home for Jews in Palestine
b. British promised Sharif Hussein that they would help set up an independent Arab state across all of the Arab areas of the Ottoman Empire after the war
11. Why did many Jews head to Palestine in the 1940’s?
a. Because of the Holocaust
12. How did Israel’s creation plant the seeds of conflict?
a. Arabs feared that they would be subject to a minority immigrant population and that the creation of Israel would lead to instability.