Oil in the Middle East
Oil is a word I frequently hear associated with the Middle East. Reading Baghdad without a Map, I constantly wondered what exactly does oil have to do with the Middle East and why are we, Americans, so concerned about it? I soon realized the answer to the first question is simply that they have a lot of it. Throughout the book Horwitz makes references to oil in context of the wealth of a city because of how much oil they have or even in terms of everyday life in the Middle East. For example the small nation, Emirates, was once the richest nation in the world because of their oil and it shows through their luxurious lifestyles. Over the years oil has become such a big part of life in the Middle East.
“Before Mohammed brought Islam to the Arabian peninsula, the Bedouin worshiped stars and used them as guides in the night. These days, nomads navigated by a constellation of oil.” (pg. 2)
This is not to say that the people living in the Middle East have lost their views on life or religion, simply that oil plays a role in their everyday life. I love this quotation because I think it describes the relationship between the people in the Middle East and oil. The second question, why is it that Americans are so concerned about the oil, is harder to answer. We, as Americans, are concerned about the oil because of our own interests. Simply put we want it, and they have it. Often times as much as I hate to admit it I hear the United States being referred to as a selfish country, and I think that the oil in the Middle East is a great example. I do not know a lot about the war, but what I do know is that a big reason why we are in Iraq now is because of our interests with their oil. I am sure that this is not the only reason because I know it is a “war on terror” and there are many underlying reasons, but it is obvious that part of it is because of the oil. We need the oil, and therefore we need them to sell it to us. This propaganda I found with Uncle Sam pointing to the reader saying “I Want Your Oil” is a great representation of how America feels about the Middle East.
http://yellowcakewalk.net/images/Uncle-Sam-Oil.jpg
-MLD
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2 comments:
I like the way u write the article, it seems really good job man. keep it up.
I wanna say u why don't u put the ads by google on your page to earn the extra income from your blog.
I agree with you. The United States can sometimes be seen as very selfish to other countries, since we seem to only care about oil, and not about the countries themselves. However, I feel like it is a dog eat dog world, and we must be competitive if we are going to survive and continue to be the super power that we are today.
-RML
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