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Balfour Declaration
The Balfour Declaration was an agreement saying that if the Jews helped support Britain during WW1, if they win Britain would give Palestine to the Jews. The Balfour Declaration led to large migrations of Jews to Palestine because they thought they were going to be able to live there. This increased tensions in the Middle East, more specifically between the Palestinians and the Zionists. -
Palestine becomes British Mandate
After WW1, Britain got control of Palestine and separated it into parts for Jewish and Arab settlements.This caused more Jews to migrate in, and that made the Palestinian Arabs mad because their land was being taken away, increasing tensions in the Middle East between the two nations. -
Holocaust
The Holocaust was the persecution of nearly 6 million Jews by Hitler and the Nazi's in WWII. The affected the Middle East bacause it forced Jews to get our of Eastern Europe. Naturally they went back to Palestine which began the tensions between the Jews and Palestinian Arabs. -
Six Day War
After the Suez Crisis in 1956, the UN had established a presence in sensitive border areas of the Middle East. Angered by this intrusion, many Arab nations no longer wanted international involvement in the region. Anticipating an Arab attack, Israel decided to initiate military action. Fought against neighboring countries of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, the Six Day War resulted with Palestinians losing more control in parts of the Holy Land. -
Yom Kippur War
Yearning to regain territory lost during the Six Day War, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat decided to attack Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. With motives stemming from Arab-Israeli conflicts, Egyptian and Syrian troops quickly progressed past previous cease-fire lines. Virtually unopposed, both nations threatened Israeli control. With the aid of U.S. weapons, Jewish forces managed to remobilize and repulse the Arabs. -
Arab Oil Embargo
In 1948, Israel was carved from UN controlled territory in Palestine. Believing that their people rightfully deserved the Holy Land, this act angered many Arabs. In years following, the U.S. continually supported the new state during Arab-Israeli conflicts. Retaliating, OPEC prohibited the sale of oil to countries which supported Israel. This caused U.S. oil shortages and sparked the start of plans for the Alaskan Pipeline. -
Jimmy Carter becomes President
During Jimmy Carter's presidency, he attempted to help relations in the Middle East. An example would be the Camp David Accords where Egypt and Israel made peace. -
Alaskan Pipeline
As an attempt to limit shortages due to the Arab Oil Embargo, the Alaskan Pipeline was created. Running from Prudhoe Bay in northern Alaska to Valdez in the south, the line consists of more than 800 miles of pipe. Although the Alaskan Pipeline has served to increase American domestic oil supplies, the United States today still relies primarily on exports from politically unstable countries in the Middle East. -
Camp David Accords
Jimmy Carter invited the Israeli Prime Minister and the Egyption President to Camp David to discuss peace between the two. This was a small step towards improving relations among the Middle East countries. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
The Iran Hostage Crisis was when 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days after a group of Iraian students took over the U.S, Embassy in Tehran. This ruptured the U.S. - Iran relations in the Middle East. -
Soviets invade Afganistan
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support the communist government. Adding Afghanistan to the Soviet Union sphere of influence would bring Russia closer to the Middle East and influence other Arab nations. -
Ronald Reagan becomes President
Reagan was involved when the Iran Hostage Crisis happened. He also tried to make peace in the Middle East by having his own peace proposal for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This plan followed the goals established at Camp David. -
George H.W. Bush Becomes President
As President during a period of conflict in the Middle East, George H.W. Bush greatly influenced many issues. A prime concern of his term was the Gulf War. By leading Desert Storm and sending military aid to the region after Iraq had invaded Kuwait, the U.S. commanded the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from the oil-rich nation. Successfully organizing a coalition or over 30 countries to force Iraqi retreat, Bush demonstrated that the U.S. would use its power to halt aggression in the Middle East. -
Desert Storm
Attempting to control the world’s oil supply, Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein launched an invasion of Kuwait. Bordering the country, Saudi Arabia faced the threat of Iraqi infiltration and asked for U.S. intervention. Dependent on oil, the U.S. carried out Operation Desert Shield, an effort to build troops to defend the region. When Hussain did not retract his army, the offensive developed into Operation Desert Storm. The U.S. bombed Iraqi military targets. In 42 days, Iraqi forces were defeated. -
Bill Clinton Becomes President
During his term as President, Bill Clinton was actively involved in Arab and Jewish negotiations. Loss of the Holy Land and ongoing U.S. support for Israel factored into many Arab nations refusing to recognize Israel as an independent state. During the 1993 Oslo Accords, Israel agreed to Palestinian self-rule in the Gaza Strip and West Bank in return for Palestinian recognition of Israel’s right to exist. This was a fragile step toward a more peaceful co-existence in the Middle East. -
World Trade Center 1993
In an effort to create a mass of American causalities, a group of radical Islamic fundamentalists intended to demolish both World Trade Centers. Detonating a 1,336 bomb beneath the North Tower, 6 were killed and over 1000 injured. The attack was traced to Islamic extremist Osama bin Laden. Issues from the Soviet-Afghan war and the presence of Western forces on “sacred Muslim soil” angered bin Laden. The bombing exemplified how the turmoil of the Middle East made its way onto American soil. -
Cetrazbat 1997
Central Asian Battalion was formed by Kazakhstan, Kygystan and Uzbekstan as a peacekeeping unit to provide peace and stability in Central Asia. It held international military exercises in Central Asia to learn the tactics of other nations. The first set of exercises were in 1997 and held in Uzbekstan and Kazakhstan where 8 countries participated. -
Embassy Bombing in Tanzania
Killing 11 and wounding 85, the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania was plotted as vengeance by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Linked to Osama bin Laden and the Middle East terrorist group Al-Qaeda, a truck explosion damaged buildings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The bombing marked the eight year anniversary of American forces entering Saudi Arabia. President Bill Clinton reacted to this attack by ordering Operation Infinite Reach, cruise missile strikes toward Sudan and Afghanistan. -
Embassy Bombing in Kenya
This was a series of attacks on U.S Embassies by truck bomb explosions killing over 200 people. This brought terrorist group. al-Qaeda to the U.S's attention for the first time. This started anti-terrorism in the U.S where they began trying to eliminate terrorists in the Middle East -
USS Cole
While refueling at the Yemeni port of Aden, the USS Cole suffered serious damages. Due to the explosion of a nearby boat by suicide bombers, a forty foot hole marred the waterline of the Navy Destroyer. The terrorist attack killed 17 members of the ship’s crew and wounded 39 others. The violence was attributed to the Islamic extremist group Al-Qaeda. Angered by Western involvement in the Middle East, the fundamentalists also resented Israeli control of the Holy Land. -
George W. Bush Becomes President
Bush was president during the attacks an 9/11 by al-Qaeda. Bush supported a plan inherited by Reagan where they tried to build a political relationship with Iraq and the Middle East where they had hopes to offset Iranian power. -
World Trade Center 2001
This was a terriorist attack on the U.S, in NYC, Washington D.C, and in Pennsylvania where over 3,000 people died. This changed relations between the U.S. and the Middle East causing the U.S. to try to promote a democratic change in the MIddle East. -
Iraq 2001-Present
Throughout recent years, many terrorist groups have had ties and operations within the Middle Eastern country of Iraq. For example, Al-Qaeda in Iraq, or AQI, is an affiliate of the core group responsible for the attacks against the U.S. on September 11, 2001. Originating from AQI is the even more recent fundamentalist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. In 2014, ISIS separated from Al-Qaeda in Iraq and is now locked in a battle for leadership of the global Jihadist Movement.
