The Engagement of the Great Powers in the Middle East - History Essay Sample

History has several instances of regional crises involving the super power countries especially during the period of the Cold War. Notable regional wars where these countries participated include the Greek war and also the Arab-Israeli wars that involved Palestine. The role played by the worlds greatest superpowers was huge and was through them being major participants in these wars and acting as great initiators of the causative policies. The Palestine war is attributed to the November 1947 General Assembly of the United Nations adoption of Resolution 181. This resolution recommended that the nation of Palestine be partitioned into a Jewish and an Arab state. The consequence of this decision was the first Arab- Israeli War that occurred between 1948 and 1949. Despite the involvement of the other small states, the initiative action of the worlds superpowers like the Great Britain, France, Soviet Union and the United States of America is the most important drive towards the development of these rows ( Interests of the Great Powers - Israel & Judaism Studies, 2017). In this paper, the participation of the super power nations in the Palestine war is comprehensively evaluated, and the real drive leading to their involvement discussed.

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Before the engagement of the world superpowers, there was an ongoing conflict that came up due to the proposal made by the Zionist movement that there be built a national Jewish home in Palestine. This proposal did not sink well with the Arab counterparts in the nation as they strongly opposed. The result of this opposition was the conflict between two groups for Palestine possession. The long-running conflict was further fuelled by the engagement of neighboring Arab nations in this affair garnering support for the Arab fraction of the opposing sides. Israeli engagement in capturing key areas such as the West Bank and the Sinai Peninsula led to the escalation of the conflict level from a local and communal level to international levels involving key territorial disputes (Sela, 1999).

The existent of these divergent views amongst the two Palestinian movements is seen as one of the root causes and continuity of this conflict. While the Arab Palestinians maintained that Israel had acquired and dispossessed them of that which rightful belongs to them including key territories, the Israelis held that they had been denied their right to exist as a sovereignty and independent state in the Middle East. Each of the two movements had a case to defend in the conflict. Therefore the Arab movement objectively wanted the dissolution of the state of Israel, an idea which the Israelis obviously act on defense. It is rightfully viewed that this conflict and the consequences that came with it have been the cause of major conflicts in the Middle East.

However, the involvement of the Great Powers into the affairs of the Middle East is viewed as a major influence and compelling factor in this conflict. From the onset it is worth noting that the engagement of the great powers in the Middle East is for, one, the geostrategic significance of the region and two; the endowment of the region with rich natural oil reserves. On the other hand, whether these factors or just political goodwill and philanthropy were the driving force in the in engagement in the Palestinian affair is a discussion topic that is to be established in this paper.

During and after this period, some of the central Great Powers involved were Britain and France until 1956 when there was the Suez war; the United States and the Soviet Union until 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved. The US, however, has extended its engagement since then. The engagement of these power states in this region has been so huge that they have nearly influenced every single decision in this region. The interest of the power nations in the creation of a Jewish Palestinian nation seems non-economic with shallow insights into the matter. A deeper insight into this matter, however, reveals more. Britain is the first country among the power states to directly influence the Israeli-Arab war in Palestine. It is claimed that instead of implementing proper policies that could ensure a peaceful partition, Britain armed the Arab groups and urged them to invade the Israeli fraction and the Jewish nation. Also, Britain did not accept the responsibility to put into effect the UN partition plan claiming that it would require the use of force. Therefore their failure to intervene appropriately directly led to chaos and destruction that kicked off the conflict.

An analysis of their role brings up a controversial reason for engagement. Why would they abort reconciliatory operations while that was their initially perceived intention? It is obvious they did not want to proceed with the partition plan and had no better reconciliatory measures for the situation. An attempt to answer that question leads to an unfortunate conclusion that it was not reconciliation after all, that brought Britain into the Middle East.

The role of the United States is a rather controversial and divisive one. While the White House supported the idea of partitioning, the State Department did not back such an idea and instead backed the United Nations to take over proceedings and implement appropriate policies in Palestine in 1948. The US later in unison supported the delay of independence declaration by Israel to allow time for ample negotiation in Palestine. The purportedly indecisive nature of the US came to light when the White House backed and recognized the Israel nation upon the declaration of independence, something the State Department did not approve. The conflict of interest between the US State of Department and the White House provides a sinister view of their real interest in this time of conflict. According to Jerome, the US was irritated by the role of the Soviet Union in the Middle East affairs, whom they perceived had an intention of negating the western involvement and dominance in the region. It is, however, debatable if this claim was true or the US had just misperceptions regarding the interests of the Soviet Union in the Israel-Arab war.

The Soviet Union also supported the idea of the partition and recognized the formation of an independent Israel nation. Despite clearly showing their role in this saga, they are accused by the other three participants of their perceived role in negating their participation in the affairs at hand. The accusations by the US are confirmed by Britain who also perceives that the Soviet Union had plans to weaken their position in the Middle East. This is confirmed by the engagement of the Soviet Union in the shipment of European Jews and armor (Golani, 2010).

France who had been a long time foe of Britain in the Middle East played a supportive role to Britain in this particular war. They formed an army together with Israel against Egypt.

Therefore, the involvement of the Great Powers goes beyond the need for a peaceful participation process. The Israel-Arab war seems to have been another platform where each of the nations deemed fit to make ground for their influence in the Middle East. The pitting of great rivals together in the war shows that the focus is beyond the partition. Otherwise, each nation could have independently engaged in the search for a reconciliatory path. Also, nations which are not affiliated with each other seem to try to negate the influence of the other. The situation between the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union is one example. The US and the Britain are not positive at all with the trial of the Soviet Union to cut out their influence in the affairs of the Middle East. It is clear the Soviet Union is trying to minimize the influence of the western nations in this war despite supporting a similar case as they do (Golani, 2010). Despite having the similar opinion of a partition, the great powers have engaged in a war against each other rather and prove their dominance in the region.

Despite being engaged in the affairs of almost any region in the world, the engagement of the Great Powers in the Middle East is a rather suspiciously intense affair with a greater impact compared to those other regions. This kind of engagement goes beyond just political goodwill as evidenced in the discussions above. As discussed above the interest is of each nation is to boast of their dominance in the region and make ground in the quest to control the worlds best endowed and oil-rich region.

Reference

Golani, M. (2010). 1948: A History of the First Arab-Israeli War. Journal Of Israeli History, 29(1), 125-129. doi:10.1080/13531041003595191

Sela, A. (1999). The 1973 Arab War coalition: Aims, coherence, and gaindistribution. Israel Affairs, 6(1), 36-69. doi:10.1080/13537129908719546

Interests of the Great Powers - Israel & Judaism Studies. (2017). Ijs.org.au. Retrieved 16 February 2017, from http://ijs.org.au/Interests-of-the-Great-Powers/default.aspx