Oil, Empire, and Oppression: The Unholy Trinity of U.S. Policy in the Middle East

By: M. Sharifi

The strategic significance of the Middle East to the United States cannot be overstated. This region endowed with vast reserves of oil and natural gas serves as the lifeblood of the Western economy--an economy largely dominated and orchestrated by American interests. 

Moreover; the Israeli regime's precarious presence in this volatile area has ensured Washington's sustained almost obsessive focus on exerting influence and control over the Middle East. 

Over the decades and particularly following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran the U.S. has bolstered its military presence across the region. Yet recent developments reveal a recalibration of its strategies--a seismic shift that far from signaling a retreat underscores a deeper and more insidious agenda of control and exploitation.

In the past few years Washington has ostensibly adopted a posture of de-escalation in the Middle East highlighted by its withdrawal from Afghanistan and a measured reduction in its overt military presence in Iraq.

However; these moves are better understood as strategic feints than genuine steps toward disengagement.  Since the onset of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm on October 7 2023 and the subsequent intensification of its unconditional support for Israel coupled with the protracted instability in Syria have exposed the hollowness of this supposed withdrawal. Instead the United States has been steadily reinforcing its presence with a growing military footprint that belies any pretense of retreat.

Recent reports reveal that two large U.S. cargo planes laden with troops and advanced military equipment have landed at the Ain al-Assad military base in western Iraq. These flights mark a significant escalation signaling the transfer of a new combat brigade to the region. This strategic redeployment involving bases in Iraq Syria and beyond constitutes one of the most substantial U.S. military operations in recent years. Ain al-Assad now functioning as a regional hub facilitates the dispersal of troops and equipment to seven American bases across Syria notably in resource-rich areas like Al-Hasakah.

This renewed military activity raises critical questions about Washington's true objectives in the region. The official narrative frames the U.S. presence as an "advisory role" aimed at stabilizing volatile areas but this rhetoric collapses under scrutiny. The real motives lie in the perpetuation of American hegemony and the safeguarding of economic and geopolitical interests--chief among them the extraction and control of the region's vast energy resources.

The U.S. has long viewed the Middle East's rich oil and gas fields as critical assets to be dominated even at the expense of regional sovereignty. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Syria's northern and eastern provinces where rich oil deposits have become the focal point of U.S. military operations. 

President Donald Trump's admission in 2019--that the American presence in Syria was fundamentally about oil--exposed the unvarnished truth behind the U.S. agenda. Today this resource-driven policy continues unabated with Washington leveraging its military presence to secure energy assets and support Kurdish groups as proxies to counter opposition forces including Saudi Arabia-backed Salafi terrorists.

Despite the strategic value of energy resources, it would be remiss to forget that central to the American strategy in the Middle East is the protection and empowerment of the Israeli regime a linchpin of U.S. influence in the region.  The increased military buildup in Iraq and Syria serves as much to counter perceived threats to Israel as to secure oil fields. By stationing troops in strategic locations and expanding its base network Washington seeks to ensure that no regional power can challenge the status quo that privileges Israeli dominance.

This sinister alignment with Israeli geopolitical priorities perpetuates instability and undermines regional autonomy.  The United States' actions are not guided by a genuine interest in peace or development but by a commitment to maintaining a geopolitical order that prioritizes its ally's interests even at the cost of perpetual conflict.

Equally troubling is the apparent acquiescence of Damascus to U.S. maneuvers. Reports suggest that Syria's new fanatic rulers--ironically, branded by the American themselves as terrorists-- have tacitly approved the establishment of additional American bases in sensitive regions such as Damascus Dara'a and Quneitra. This silence, and indeed this complicity, raises the specter of a broader strategy: the deliberate destabilization of Syria under the guise of cooperation with a regime mirroring the Taliban.

It is not far-fetched to surmise that the U.S. has long been preparing for this scenario. The transfer of thousands of troops and advanced equipment to Syria's strategic bases could only have been executed with months of meticulous planning.  Today Washington's ultimate goal appears quite clear: the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's government--a long-standing objective finally achieved through both direct and indirect means.

The United States' destabilizing strategy in the Middle East epitomizes the grand hypocrisy of its foreign policy. While proclaiming itself a champion of democracy and human rights Washington's maneuvers reveal a darker truth: the relentless pursuit of imperial ambitions at the expense of regional stability sovereignty and development. Its military interventions framed as efforts to combat CIA-made terrorism or promote peace are little more than a façade for resource extraction and geopolitical dominance.

Middle Eastern nations have borne the brunt of these policies enduring war displacement and economic exploitation. Meanwhile the U.S. continues to manipulate the region's internal dynamics fostering divisions and empowering proxies to serve its interests. This approach not only prolong suffering and misery but also ensures that the Middle East remains a theater for American imperialism.

The developments in Iraq and Syria are a stark reminder of the United States' enduring imperial ambitions. Far from retreating Washington has recalibrated its strategies to tighten its grip on the Middle East leveraging military force and geopolitical machinations to secure its interests. This is not a policy of peace or progress but a continuation of a long history of exploitation and domination. It is imperative that the international community recognize and confront this reality. The time has come to challenge the hegemony of a power that cloaks its self-serving actions in the rhetoric of freedom and democracy.  Fiat lux: Let there be light to expose the truth behind the shadow of American neo-imperialism.