Episode 10: More Than Oil? - America in the Middle East

I introduce this week's topic of America in the Middle East by hewing a little more closely to the news cycle than usual in the podcast, and that's because the last couple of weeks have seen some pretty incredible developments in the Trump administrations approach to the MENA region. Of greatest focus in the US, is Turkey's invasion of northern Syria and the withdrawal of American forces in the contested space, opening up Kurdish fighters to Turkish aggression and causing a general realignment not only in the Syrian conflict, but in how Americans talk about the Middle East. If you had told me 10 years ago that Republicans would (largely) be arguing to get troops out of the Middle East and Democrats would be arguing to keep them, I would've laughed. No longer. In the general upheaval, the really big question is, "Just why does America get so invested in the Middle East and its conflicts?" Critics of US foreign policy will say it's because of the oil, "No blood for oil," being a common slogan heard when the deployment of US troops to the region is in question. But is America in the Middle East just for the oil? And if so, why is that even the case? This is a short, introductory primer to America's interest in the MENA (Middle East North Africa) region. Get the show notes at www.timtalkspolitics.com.