Cold War

8/30/13

Throughout the last seventy years or so (1940's-present), there has been a multitude of themes surrounding the U.S and world politics. As World War II was coming to a close, a new "war" (The Cold War) arose between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. This divided the world once again between supporters of the Soviet Union, and supporters of the U.S. The Cold War was influenced by many factors including an indirect superpower competition between the U.S and the Soviet Union and conflict in regards to atomic bombs, as well as the division of support for both sides from a number of places including Germany and Korea. These divisions created hostile environments which helped fuel this feud between the superpowers. Mutually assured destruction was put into action where both factions gathered enough firepower to guarantee the destruction of the other. This was able to ensure that if neither party would attack due to the enormous consequences.

Conflicts nowadays seem to be almost exclusively over limited resources. During the Cold War era, one of these natural resources, arguably the most important one still today, was petroleum. Petroleum reserves in the Middle East have been coveted by U.S foreign policy. Both parties have been transparent with their desire for Middle eastern oil which has caused a rift in relations between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. The U.S. desires Middle Eastern oil so much that the government has made it a national security issue. As we continue to rely on oil for energy, the U.S. will continue to have a  "More and more aggressive foreign oil policy aimed at assuring access to petroleum overseas," (30). This was apparent during the Truman presidency when the Soviets were attempting to get an in with Turkey and Greece. Truman stated in a speech, which later becomes referred to as the Truman Doctrine, that the U.S. would support Turkey and Greece financially and militarily in an effort to keep them out of the Soviet sphere of influence. This was a smart move because not only did it protect against Soviet advances, but it also portrayed America as the "good guy" in the eye of the rest of the world.

The Truman Doctrine was followed by the Eisenhower Doctrine where Eisenhower felt the need to bolster the armed forces of friendly regimes in the Middle East, like Saudi Arabia. This came from Egypt buying arms from the USSR following their diminishing view on Western powers. Again, this seems to put America in a positive light because it looks like they are just protecting any nation that needs help. When in reality, America is only doing this with their own benefits in mind - The continued availability of Saudi oil.
The final doctrine comes from the Nixon administration, where Nixon wanted to alleviate the American burden of defending its allies. Instead of being the dominant protector of its allies, America would "furnish military and economic assistance when requested," (43) in order to reduce the amount that America would have to intervene in international affairs. This was a smart move for Nixon because it helped to relieve some pressure that the U.S. was facing trying to be the main defender of its allies, becomes a lot more bearable.

Overall, petroleum has been a constant source for aggression in my lifetime, and I imagine will continue to be one for some time. As countries like the U.S. continue to rely so heavily on oil for everything from travel, industry, and agriculture, the larger the consequences will be when the oil runs out, is refused to them or becomes too expensive. Massive economic and industrial collapses can occur if the U.S. - Saudi Arabia relationship becomes toxic. This dependence on oil is continuing to become more and more intense which is putting the U.S. in a vulnerable position. As we get further into our class, this dependency on oil will become more and more important and frightening.

"Oil makes this country strong; dependency makes us weak." (11)