WW IV
The best review of the history of the American role in the ME, by Bacevitch in the Wilson Quarterly. He contends that the seeds of our current World War IV were planted by FDR, that the war was declared by Carter, and reaches its full development now. And yes, it's about oil. And a pact with the devil - a pact not so much for oil itself as a pact for politically-necessary growth and prosperity.