Black Gold of the Middle East

Abstract

The following paper deals with Crude Oil and the Middle East. There are many misconceptions regarding crude oil and politics in today's world. To clarify the issue, this paper will examine I. The effect crude oil has on the U.S economy, and 2. the role crude oil plays in the current American involvement in the Middle East. Historically, there have been trends between oil production, price, and the "health" of the U.S. economy (measured as GDP per capita in this instance). Accordingly, the U.S. involved itself in the Middle East on several occasions. Many opinions emerged regarding the issue and these have both defended or condemned America's actions. A common defense presented is the "three case scenarios" whereby simulated takeovers in the Middle East are hypothesized, and possible outcomes presented. A statistical study of this argument proved that regardless of a producer country's political agenda, countries would produce to maintain their own economic interests. As a result, in the long run, instability would not affect U.S. GDP per capita (unless extraordinary circumstances occur such as the Iran-Iraq war). Therefore, there is no need for a U.S. military presence in the area to insure stability.