America in the Middle East: The Strategy Behind U.S. Presence

Why does America keep sending troops to the Middle East and what are they really fighting for? After the deaths of three U.S. service members in Jordan, this episode traces the answer back nearly 80 years, revealing how oil, the Cold War, Iran, terrorism and great-power competition transformed a wartime handshake into one of America's longest-running military commitments. You'll learn the real strategic reasons behind the U.S. presence in the region and how today's crisis fits into a geopolitical story that began long before the modern Middle East took shape.