This chapter explores the origins of the U.S. military's involvement in the Middle East, beginning with the establishment of the Daran airbase in 1945. It examines key events and shifts in geopolitical power, particularly following British withdrawal and the implications of the Gulf War. The narrative highlights the complexities of international relations, U.S. interventions, and the transformative impact of oil on regional dynamics and political influence.
Featuring Abdel Razzaq Takriti, this is the first of a two-part epilogue to Thawra (Revolution), our series on Arab radicalism in the 20th century. Today’s installment covers the Iranian Islamic Revolution’s huge impact across the Arab East alongside Saudi and Egyptian efforts to foster religious conservative movements in an effort to supplant and suppress the secular nationalist left. Plus the Iran-Iraq War, the mujahideen in Afghanistan, the First Intifada, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, the first US-led invasion of Iraq, and the PLO’s march toward the Oslo Accords–and how Hamas and Islamic Jihad stepped into the resulting vacuum, picking up a Palestinian armed struggle the PLO had renounced.
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