By 1978 The Thirty-year War That Had Been Fought Between Egypt And Isr

By 1978 the thirty-year war that had been fought between Egypt and Israel had come to a point where there was a chance for peace. The area that had been at the center of the turmoil was the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza Strip. The problem was that both countries believed that they had the rights to this land: Israel, biblically and Egypt, politically. So an invitation by President Jimmy Carter to President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel was extended. The invitation was for a meeting in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland at the presidential retreat, Camp David. The meeting was so that the framework of a peace agreement, known as the Camp David Accord, could be laid out between Sadat and Begin, with Carter as the mediator. Both Sadat and Begin had their reputations and their countries futures on the line, not to mention the future of the Middle East. All of the countries neighboring Egypt and Israel would be affected by an Egyptian/Israeli agreement of any kind and maybe encouraged to come to an agreement of some sort for that region. A lot of problems had to be overcome for this summit to be a success. One of them was that the hatred and suspicions between President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin ran very deep. Another problem was that the outside pressures were too strong to permit an easy and early resolve for issues that had a long and ancient history (Mideast 26). The last problem was the hope that President Carter could put out of his mind the psychological profiles done by the CIA on both Begin and Sadat, which could have adversely affected his ability to mediate the proceedings. The long-standing hatred between Sadat and Begin was not one of a personal nature. It had more to do with the political differences of their two countries. Israel has held that the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were theirs because of the establishment of the State of Israel, out of what was Palestine in 1948 and by right of heredity. This was the land that God had told Moses was the Jewish Promised Land. The Egyptians, on the other hand, claimed that the West Bank and the Gaza Strip were theirs. They based their claim on the fact that there were Egyptian citizens living in these areas at the time, the State of Israel was established, so therefore it must be Egyptian land. In advance of the summit, the President received in-depth psychological profiles of both Sadat and Begin from the CIA (Blitzer 48). The American delegates thought that if the Egyptian and Israeli leaders were to budge it would be necessary to understand them and the way they thought (Blitzer 48). It was also decided that the Camp David meetings would be completely unstructured, without even an agenda to get them started, (Three 227) the hope was that this would be more conducive to the free exchange of thoughts and ideas. As the summit convened, Rosalynn Carter (President Carters wife) recognized that the three men had one thing in common, that is, their deep religious convictions (Blitzer 48). She suggested that the summit begin with some sort of prayer. So on September 6, 1978, as the summit was starting, the three leaders issued a prayer for peace to the world, saying: Conscious of the grave issues which face us, we place our trust in the God of our fathers, from whom we seek wisd om and guidance (Mideast 29). With this the Camp David summit started. In the beginning, both Sadat and Begin seemed willing to have sit-down face to face talks about the issues that were in front of them, evident by the fact the two men had come this far. But it soon became obvious that a three way sit down approach between President Carter and the two leaders was going to be counter productive. Within the first ten days of the summit, Sadat and Begin sat down together on only two days for a total of seven hours (Mideast 26). This was due in large part to some sticky points the two leaders could not see eye to eye

US in the Middle East

US in the Middle East Introduction Being the world’s leading superpower, it is quite likely that the United States will use every tactic to establish its presence in many places across the world. It is thus no wonder that they are involved in various peace and humanitarian initiatives globally.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on US in the Middle East specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This notwithstanding, the interest of the United States in the Middle East is questionable. Although the world has been made to believe that the involvement of the US in Middle East was purely for security reasons, there is a very high possibility that it was for the United States’ economic interests. This paper presents various arguments pointing to the fact that the United States’ presence in the Middle East was for their own economic benefits. Why the US was in the Middle East for their Economic Interests As has already been menti oned, there is a price to being a superpower. One strategy used by most leading nations is to ensure that they can stay ahead of the rest. Owing to the fact that a close association between America’s competitors and those in the Middle East could be a threat to its operations, it is quite obvious that the United States would want to be in control of most activities in the Middle East as well as in other states that export gas and oil. This led to United States entering the Middle East region as a friend with good intentions. The United States is also known for its prowess in manufacturing weapons. To ensure a steady market and great profits for weapon manufacturers, it is clear that the United States had to be heavily involved in the militarizing the Middle East region (Day, 2000). Apparently, most weapons imported into the Middle East region come from the United States. As a result, the US weapon industry continues to grow and weapon manufacturers keep on enjoying hefty prof its from their involvement in the oil and gas business.Advertising Looking for research paper on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the process, the economy of the United States also grew and jobs were created for the American citizens (Sullivan, 2009). This explains why the United States has on several occasions been opposed to the determination by the Middle East states in coming up with their own weapons of mass destruction. Most of the world’s oil reserves are found in the Middle East (Habibi Woertz, 2009). Given that the oil reserves in other regions may soon be depleted, the intention of the United States has been to maintain a steady supply of gas and oil by establishing a strong presence in the Middle East (Snider, 2011). Consequently, the security of the Middle East region remains a matter of national importance to the US and other interested nations (Ewane, 2010). Major atte mpts have thus been made by the United States to create and keep close alliances with oil monarchies of the Middle East. Apparently, the US also benefits from providing transport services for gas and oil products within the region (Fund, 2006). A number of oil firms in the United States have also benefited through involvement in partnerships with major oil companies in the Middle East (Dobson Marsh, 2007). However, while the United States has worked so hard to create strong ties with allies in the Middle East, efforts have also been made to frustrate their opponents (Marc, 2011). In the recent past, the supremacy of the United States in the region has been threatened by countries such as China and India whose consumption of oil and gas products has been increasing over the years as a result of growth in their economies (Habibi Woertz, 2009). The growing interest by China and India is partly responsible for the loss of business to American firms that previously almost faced no comp etition or resistance from other nations. The presence of the United States in the Middle East is also meant to keep a tight control on the activities of Islamic groups involved in activities that threaten stability in various places across the world (Hassassian, 1997).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on US in the Middle East specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is alleged that over the years, insecurities experienced in various parts of the world including the United States are spearheaded by radical Islamic groups operating mainly from within the Middle East region (Legrenzi Momani, 2013). Considering that this can stifle economic growth in the United States, part of the reason for the involvement of the US in the region is to frustrate the activities of such groups and render them useless (Baxter Akbarzadeh, 2008). Conclusion The involvement of the United States in the Middle East has been criticized by ma ny, including those whose very existence may be threatened by the activities within the region. There are also concerns that the United States is assuming a role reserved for the United Nations Security Council. Although it is the sole responsibility of the UN Security Council to authorize any form of military interventions, the United States went ahead to make a unilateral decision to do so. Considering the views presented in this paper, it is clear that the United States was in the Middle East for its own economic reasons. This is contrary to the wide spread belief that the United States moved into the region to help restore peace and stability in order to create a healthy and secure environment. References Baxter, K. Akbarzadeh, S. (2008). US Foreign Policy in the Middle East: The Roots of Anti-Americanism. New York, NY: Routledge. Day, A. (2000). US Foreign Relations with the Middle East and North Africa: A Bibliography: Supplement 1998. Reference Reviews, 14(2), 12 – 13 .Advertising Looking for research paper on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Dobson, A. P. Marsh, S. (2007). US Foreign Policy since 1945. New York, NY: Taylor Francis. Ewane, F. E. (2010). United States’ Involvement in the Middle East Peace Process. Munich, Germany: GRIN Verlag. Fund, M. (2006). World Economic Outlook 2006. Washington, DC: Intemational Monetary Fund. Habibi, N. Woertz, E. (2009). US-Arab Economic Relations and the Obama Administration. Middle East Brief, 34. Hassassian, M. (1997). U.S. National Interests in the Middle East. Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics and Culture, 4(3), 1. Legrenzi, M., Momani, B. (2013). Shifting Geo-Economic Power of the Gulf: Oil Finance and Institutions. Burlington VT: Ashgate Publishing. Marc, L. (2011). The Big Think behind the Arab Spring. Foreign Policy, 190, 46 – 47. Snider, E. A. (2011). The Arab Spring: U.S. Democracy Promotion in Egypt. Middle East Policy, 18 (3), 49 – 62. Sullivan, P. (2009). President Barak Hussein Obama and the Middle East: The Peace Process, Iran, Iraq and Reasonable Expectations. Jordan Journal of International Affairs, 2(4), 9 – 36.