Abstract
The Middle East was one of the most covet zones in the past century. Located at the crossroad between western nation, the "Third World" and the communist bloc, it played a strategic role during the colonial era, the Second World War and mainly during the cold war. Because of its immense natural resources, especially oil and gas, and of the growing up of the consumer society, all foreign interventions in the Middle East were lead by national interest and a policy of influence. Looking back at its historical background, we find that the Middle East already had close relations with the Western countries before the Cold War, as after the Sykes Picot treaty, Britain and France were both given large areas of the middle east taken from the defeated Turks, to look after as mandates (Syria and Lebanon for France, Iraq and Jordan for England). There were also some economical alliances with the United States existing before the Cold war area, such as the Red Line Agreement in 1928 and the Anglo American petroleum agreement in 1944, which show that, in the wake of WWII, newly exploited oil and pressure from American commercial interests were the major motives for Washington's involvement in the area. What were the motivations which lead the Western countries to such an important commitment? What influence did the Cold War have on Western intervention? Which consequences for the Middle East might be drawn out from those actions?
