In his book “War and Empire”, Paul Atwood presents a controversial idea related to the United States’ policies directed toward the development of relations with the Middle Eastern countries. The events of World War II led to changing the United States’ status regarding the control over oil supplies in the world.
Atwood states that these changes were dramatic for the United States because it was “the world’s chief supplier of oil” before the war periods (Atwood 224). Thus, following Atwood’s idea, it is possible to state that the United States’ post-war policies were developed to bring back the control and to preserve the powerful positions in relation to the Middle Eastern countries’ oil supplies because of their strategic significance for the United States.
The opinion promoted by Atwood can be supported with references to the ideas provided in such documentaries as Michael Klare’s Blood and Oil, Norman Soloman’s War Made Easy, and Adolfo Doring’s Blind Spot. The explanation to the US focus on the Middle Eastern countries’ oil supplies is provided in Klare’s Blood and Oil. According to Klare, the meeting between President Roosevelt and Saudi King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud in 1945 resulted in a pact in which the United States proposed the military protection for the country.
Thus, Saudi Arabia leaders guaranteed the exclusive access to the oil reserves (“Blood and Oil”). Moreover, Klare states, “Our military policy and our energy policy have become intertwined” (“Blood and Oil”). Furthermore, the strategy was followed by the US government later, when the military forces had “to protect the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf to the United States and markets around the world” (“Blood and Oil”).
Jimmy Carter’s vision is provided to conclude about the US mission and strategy, thus, the outside forces’ attempts “to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States of America”, and moreover, “such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary” (“Blood and Oil”). From this point, the military activities of the USA in the Middle Eastern region can be explained with references to the pact discussed above.
In his documentary, Norman Solomon also refers to the role of wars for the US policies. Thus, “the future will be replicated to the extent that we fail to understand what has been done with these wars in the past” (“War Made Easy”). Solomon also states that “the war becomes the product” with references to the US authorities’ intention to gain control over the oil supplies (“War Made Easy”).
The next important issue which should be discussed in the context is the issue of propaganda, thus, Solomon claims, “we like to think that we’re not subjected to propaganda from our own government”, however, the realities are the opposite ones (“War Made Easy”). Referring to Solomon’s ideas, it is possible to state that the invasion into Iraq is directly associated with the idea of controlling oil supplies.
The further discussion of the issue can be related to the ideas presented in Adolfo Doring’s Blind Spot. Following Atwood’s idea, Richard Heinberg claims that “The US used to be the world’s foremost oil-producing nation back in the early part of the 20th century” (“Blind Spot”).
This aspect is significant for the US economy and social life. Thus, in the documentary, Bill McKibben states, “fossil fuel has transformed our way of life in this country”, and Ted Caplow replies that the increase in oil process can lead to the dramatic changes in the economy and social life, thus, “an energy crisis becomes a food crisis” (“Blind Spot”).
From this perspective, the US policies typical for the post-war period are closely connected with the government’s position in relation to gaining the world’s leading status as the oil-producing nation. To bring the power and control back, the USA signed the pact with Saudi Arabia and continued to develop strategies to protect the position and avoid the oil and economic crisis even with the help of military forces.
Works Cited
Atwood, Paul. War and Empire: The American Way of Life. USA: Pluto Press, 2010. Print.
Blind Spot. 2013. Web.
Blood and Oil. 2013. Web.
War Made Easy. 2013. Web.