Word: arabia
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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This brings me to the other course of developments through which the Middle East is moving. In 1977, when Sadat embarked on his dramatic trip to Jerusalem, the whole area was still greatly under American influence. This was the case in Saudi Arabia, in Iran, in the Sudan, Morocco and Jordan. Today, however, the situation is different. The Shah of Iran left his country, and Iran is undergoing a radical, anti-Western, anti-American revolution, with instability as its most immediate characteristic. Whatever stability and normalization the oil market regained in the years between 1975 and 1978 has disappeared, with...
...fear that conservative Middle Eastern governments are experiencing because of Iran and Afghanistan may or may not give the U.S. much respite. Dependent on the U.S. for security, countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait may press the U.S. less vigorously to respect Palestinian rights in the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and may even respond positively to U.S. persuasion to finance with petrodollars the defense-spending of "like-minded" regimes in the area (e.g. Pakistan). On the other hand, as the Arab royal families are perfectly aware, failure to press for Palestinian rights in peace negotiations and closer association...
Given the contraction of the American economy, one wonders at what point one neglected leak will develop into a flood. Consider, for example, the implications of a coup in Saudi Arabia, the potential for which was starkly revealed in the take-over of the Great Mosque in Mecca--or in Egypt, where expectations of rapid economic development following on the heels of peace with Israel have been irresponsibly fueled by the leadership...
Operation World, by P.J. Johnstone, is a grossly oversimplified view of the religious and political situation of every established country in the world. In a section titled, "Points for Prayer", Johnstone says of Saudi Arabia, "The vast oil wealth is now being used to propogate Islam all over the world." A pamphlet available at Urbana Onward also rails against Islam, calling the Muslim world "perhaps the largest stronghold of Satan to refuse the Savior...
...autonomy for the West Bank and Gaza. With only four months left before expiration of the May deadline for a Palestinian autonomy plan, which Cairo and Jerusalem accepted in principle at Camp David, the Carter Administration has been anxious to speed up the pace of the negotiations. Reason: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates regard the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as a more troublesome source of Middle East instability than Soviet expansionism...