Strategic Location of Middle East

Middle East is an interconnecting link among Asia, Europe and Africa, Important travel routes connecting the Far East and Middle East with Europe and America pass through the Middle East. This region contains strategic choke points and straits. This includes the Strait of Gibraltar, between the Atlantic and Mediterranean; the Turkish Straits, connecting the Black and Mediterranean seas; the Suez Cannel, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea; the Strait of Babel Mandeb, linking the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean, through the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

Politics Regarding the Middle East

Beginning with world war ll, political and strategic need have caused the Western countries especially the United States to be increasingly involved in Middle East affairs. Since the end of the cold war USA has a number of primary goals which keep it involved in this region. Regarding the perpetuation of goals and interests, the West retains varied relations with the governments of Middle East countries and promotes the message of democracy selectively. United States has tried in many ways to preserve its strategic access to the Middle East.

History of Confrontation between the West and Middle East

The Western world had for centuries been gradually penetrating most of the areas that had once been part of the Muslim empire, and in the latter part of the nineteenth century European powers came to dominate the Middle East.European penetration was gradual and complex process; but there were, nevertheless, clearly identifiable turning points. In the sixteenth century, for example, the Ottoman Empire voluntarily granted a series of concessions which gave the Europeans advantages in foreign trade in the empire. Another turning point was the invasion of Egypt in 1798 by Napoleon Bonaparte. Hoping to cut Britain's lines to India and cripple its maritime and economic power, Napoleon crushed the Mamluks (who governed Egypt under Ottoman suzerainty) and briefly occupied the country. On July 21 (1798), in a battle fought within sight of the Pyramids they were entirely defeated, and Napoleon was master of Egypt.