Although both perspectives offer a plausible conclusion, but it is hard to place the blame on just Western-Imperialists or “wandering Zionists” on the turmoil in the Middle East since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The Middle Eastern states themselves have nourished their their religious and political conflicts in order to assert various regimes. European imperialism became more predominant in the Middle East during the 20th century, when Britain promised a “national home for the Jews in Palestine” in 1917. Oil was another example of imperialism. It was discovered in commercial quantities in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia in the 1920’s. Later on, in the 1930’s, the United States entered the region, insisting on a share of the British oil industry, and taking exclusive control of Saudi Arabia’s oil. The United States became dependent on foreign oil in the 1970’s, but the Europeans were always dependent on oil in the Middle East. This led to the Suez Crisis in 1956, when Britain and France invaded Egypt to stop the Egyptian president from nationalizing the Suez Canal. More conflict further ensued in the Middle East when the Soviet Union convinced the Arab states that if Israel did not exist, then
Although both perspectives offer a plausible conclusion, but it is hard to place the blame on just Western-Imperialists or “wandering Zionists” on the turmoil in the Middle East since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The Middle Eastern states themselves have nourished their their religious and political conflicts in order to assert various regimes. European imperialism became more predominant in the Middle East during the 20th century, when Britain promised a “national home for the Jews in Palestine” in 1917. Oil was another example of imperialism. It was discovered in commercial quantities in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia in the 1920’s. Later on, in the 1930’s, the United States entered the region, insisting on a share of the British oil industry, and taking exclusive control of Saudi Arabia’s oil. The United States became dependent on foreign oil in the 1970’s, but the Europeans were always dependent on oil in the Middle East. This led to the Suez Crisis in 1956, when Britain and France invaded Egypt to stop the Egyptian president from nationalizing the Suez Canal. More conflict further ensued in the Middle East when the Soviet Union convinced the Arab states that if Israel did not exist, then