I
An Introduction to a Dynamic Region
II
History and Context of Middle East conflict

I
An Introduction to a Dynamic Region

Supplies 40% of world energy
Powers 96% of our transportation
Oil 66% is in the Middle East
25% of oil in Saudi Arabia alone
United States consumes 25%
The world produces 85,540,000 bbl/day
The world consumes 85,220,000 bbl/day
A barrel of oil is equal to 158.987295L
Up to 11 million OFWs in the world
OFW 3 million are in the Middle East
OFWs count for 12% of our population
Remittances equal 13.5% of our economy

Began as a mortgage crisis in the United States.
Oil (a commodity) became a safe haven.
Speculation drove up the price of oil to $147/barrel.
Industries and businesses relying on oil suffered.
With demand destroyed, price falls to $41/barrel.
OPEC argues that fair price of oil is $80/barrel.

The whole world has something at stake in the Middle East.
Conflict and instability do not work to anyone’s favor.
Some countries have more at stake than others.
Peace remains elusive.

THE ISSUE OF ISRAEL remains the ultimate test case
of Middle East peace.
Conflict is rooted in a complex blend of geographic,
demographic, political, economic, social and religious issues.
Your task is to solve it.

POST-SUMMIT
SECTION DAY ONE DAY TWO
EXAM*
CAMIA February 18 February 20 February 23
ILANG-ILANG February 17 February 19 February 23
JASMIN February 18 February 19 February 23
ROSAL February 18 February 20 February 24
*This is LT#1 moved from February 16/17.

1. Prepare a three-page briefing on your nation’s economic,
political and social situation in the 1982-1984 period.
2. Teams working with the United States and the Soviet Union
should concentrate on the relevance of the Middle East to
their nations during this same period.
3. Teams working with the Palestinian Liberation Organization
should concentrate on the history of the organization, its
goals, and its outcomes. Highlight their role in the 80’s.
4. Bring this document on the first day of the summit. Submit
on the last day. Have a photocopy prepared for summit use.
5. Consult socscidos.wordpress.com for the format.

THE MIDDLE EAST (Ch 39) 703 to 733
Turkey 703 to 708
Egypt 708 to 715
Israel and Palestine 715 to 722
Saudi Arabia 723 to 725
Iran 725 to 729
Iraq 729 to 732
Conclusion 732 to 733

I
An Introduction to a Dynamic Region
II
History and Context of Middle East conflict

I
An Introduction to a Dynamic Region
II
History and Context of Middle East conflict

• The region is defined more by
religion, customs and language
than by geography.
• Most are Arabs and they are
linked with their non-Arab
counterparts through religion.
• But even Islam is divided
between Sunni and Shia.

A. NATIONALISM – countries
wanted to assert their
independence
B. OIL – countries wanted to
maximize oil profits
C. ISRAEL – Israel and its
neighbors remain a
flashpoint of Israeli/Arab
conflict

I
An Introduction to a Dynamic Region
II.a
History and Context of Middle East Conflict:
The Rise of Nationalism

Five Factors
1. Economic dislocation
2. Liberal education
3. Archaeological excavations
4. Regional events
5. Global events
Three Goals
1. Economic equity
2. Social justice
3. Independent government with wide participation

The end of the
Ottoman Empire (an
ally of Germany)
allowed the
different nations to
assert their
independence.
However, the
downfall of the
empire also made
them vulnerable to
foreign influence.

The Ottoman empire is one of the
three centralized Islamic empires to
follow the dissolution of the Abbasids
in the 13th century. Safavid Empire ,
1501 to 1722 (Persia)
Mughal Empire,
1526 to1857 (South Asia)

After the downfall of
the Ottoman, the Sykes
Picot Agreement (1916)
divided the Middle East
between the French and
British.
This led to the creation
of spheres of influence
(ex. French in Lebanon,
British in Iraq).

• Arab opposition to foreign
influence, especially Jewish
immigration united them
towards a common cause.
• As nationalist leaders gained
strength, leaders began to
demand greater control over oil
production and prices (OPEC).
• The Islamic polity cannot be
ruled by an “infidel”.

Mustafa Kemal Gamal Abdul Nasser Mohammed Reza Pahlavi
Turkey Egypt Iran

The Suez canal controls 14% of world trade and can cut travel
time between Europe and Asia by half.

I
An Introduction to a Dynamic Region
II.b
History and Context of Middle East Conflict:
The Fight for Oil

• Vast reserves of oil
were discovered in
1938.
• By the 1950s, oil
money was being
used for
modernization
programs, hospitals,
schools and irrigation
works. It now counts
for 40% of their
economy.

I
An Introduction to a Dynamic Region
II.c.1
History and Context of Middle East Conflict:
The Context

• The Zionist movement of the late
1890s encouraged the
movement of Jews into
Palestine.
• The Balfour Declaration of 1917
encouraged them further.
• Jewish persecution during WW2
forced even more to move into
Palestine.

• Israelis claim:
• Palestine had been their land
until Romans drove them out in
the first and second centuries
• They have suffered too long and
won’t be safe until they had their
own country
• Arabs had several nations of their
own but never established one in
Palestine
• Jewish pioneers helped the city
blossom

• Palestinians claim:
• Palestine had been Arab land
for centuries and its population
has been predominantly Arab
• While they sympathized with
the Jews, it was not the Arabs
who persecuted the Jews
• It would be an injustice to the
Arab population to solve the
Israeli problem at their
expense

• A conflict between the politics
and ideology of two
superpowers – the United
States and Soviet Union. (“Iron
Curtain”)
• The USSR was on guard against
United States neoimperialism
(via capitalism).
• The US was on guard against
the spread of communism.

• •
no system of private ownership open market, free trade
• •
no government; the state is people have rights and liberties,
ruled by a council of proletariat especially the right to vote
• •
no religion; faith should not be respect for religion and faith
a social institution
• •
importance of the group primacy of the individual
• •
subversion of the international integration into the
system international system

• •
Interests were in securing the Had little interests at first. Saw
Northern Tier (Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Middle East as a British and French
Afghanistan). concern.
• •
Had no interests either oil or Interest in the southern states
Mediterranean access. increased because of oil. (And this
needed Mediterranean access.)
• Increased interest was a response
•
to increased American involvement Were worried about Arab
(particularly in the case of Israel). nationalism and communism.
• •
Adopted a dominantly pro-Arab Adopted a dominantly pro-Israeli
stance. stance.

I
An Introduction to a Dynamic Region
II.c.2
History and Context of Middle East Conflict:
The History

• 15 May 1948: Israel was
created with the support of the
UN (two country solution) but
without the approval of the
Arabs
• War broke out right after when
Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon
and Iraq invaded the Arab
sections. The conflict ended
when an armistice was signed
on 1949.

• On 26 July 1956, Egypt seized
control of the Suez canal and
cut off Israeli shipping.
• On 29 October 1956, Israel
invaded the Sinai peninsula
with the help of Britain and
France.
• The US and UN negotiated a
ceasefire and kept UN forces on
Egypt’s border. Israel refused.

• On 19 May 1967, Egypt expelled
the UN forces and sent 10,000
troops into the Sinai peninsula.
They closed Israeli shipping again.
• On 30 May 1967, Jordan entered
into a mutual defense pact with
Syria and Egypt.
• On 5 June 1967, Israel responded
with a preemptive strike on
Egypt. The Six Day War began.

• 5 to 10 June 1967: Israel wins the
Six-Day War and captures the Sinai
peninsula, the Golan Heights, the
West Bank, and Jordan’s half of
Jerusalem.
• 6 to 20 October 1973: Syria and Egypt
attack Israel on Yom Kippur. When
Israel turned the tide of war, the
USSR threatened to intervene, forcing
the US to call a ceasefire.
• The Camp David Accords of 1978
attempted to broker peace between
Israel and Egypt.

1. During the
Kingdom of David
and Solomon
2. As partitioned by
the UN in 1947
3. After the Six-Day
War

• Camp David Accords of 1978: Sinai
Peninsula to Egypt, Gaza Strip to
Israel.
• 2 June 1964: The Palestinian
Liberation Organization (PLO) was
born, headed by Yasir Arafat. Their
initial goals included the
dissolution of Israel.
• Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 to
eliminate the PLO forces that fled
into the country. This greatly
weakened the PLO. In this
encounter, Hezbollah was born to
counter Israeli forces.

• The First Intifada (1987 to 1993):
a mass-uprising by Palestinians
against Israel for extra-judicial
killings, mass detentions, house
demolitions, deportation
• During the Intifada, Hamas
(Arabic acronym for Islamic
Resistance Movement) was
established. It seeks an Islamic
state in Israel, Gaza and the West
Bank. They offer themselves as an
alternative to the PLO.

• 26 January 2006: Hamas wins a
landslide victory in the Palestinian
parliament
• June 2006: Hamas vs Israel in the
Gaza Strip
• June 2008: Cease-fire truce
between Hamas and Israel is
negotiated by Egypt.
• 19 December 2008: Hamas ends the
cease-fire.
• 20 January 2009: Hamas and Israel
sign a truce after a three-week seige
into Gaza.
• 31 January 2009: Hamas fires again.

• The Iran-Iraq War from
September 1980 to August
1988
• The Gulf War of 1991 (Iraq
invaded Kuwait)
• War on Terrorism, 2001 to
present
• Iraq War, 2003 to present
Full graphic at socscidos.wordpress.com

I
An Introduction to a Dynamic Region
Will it ever end?

“History repeats itself, first as tragedy,
second as farce.” - Karl Marx
“We learn from history that we learn
nothing from history.” - George Bernard
Shaw
“All modern wars start in the history
classroom.” - Anonymous