King of the Desert: the Battle Between Britain and the United States for Hegemony in the Middle East [Oracle]

Since the beginning of historical records, the Middle East has been a stage for competition between major powers. In the first half of the 20th century, Britain and France were the main forces competing for power in the Middle East. In 1946, Britain secretly supported Lebanese and Syrian nationalists to oust France, but the joy of victory was soon diluted by the arrival of a new rival, the United States. The United States and Britain have different views on issues such as who owns the oil in the Middle East, who controls the Suez Canal, and whether it supports Arab nationalism or Zionism. The two sides are no longer allies. The United States even encouraged and exploited the widespread anti-British sentiment in the Middle East, ended British rule in the Middle East, and ushered in a new order led by the United States. Historian James Barr uses newly declassified archives to argue that the United States is behind Britain's withdrawal from the Middle East and that almost every problem currently plaguing the Middle East is a direct result of decades of disastrous foreign policy by the United States and Britain.