America’s involvement in the Middle East has revolved around oil as well as religion and Zionist pursuits, Cold War tensions, and the specter of terrorism. All arose or expanded as concerns during World War II and its aftermath.

Continuing a four-part series, Brian Steed of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College examines those developments and their impact.

Affordable Middle Eastern oil was essential to the success of the Marshall Plan. The war essentially begat the modern state of Israel and its associated regional frictions. The collapse of European imperial powers and rise of nationalism were a global phenomena but especially resonant in the Middle East. And modern terrorism is seeded in the philosophical writings of people influenced by the post-World War II world.