My summer semester has come to an end so for the time being this will be my last class note. I may still post something from time to time, and will post my Historically Speaking column, but the daily postings will not start again until my semester starts in August. This fall I am teaching a class on the Middle East and U.S. History from 1865-1940 so expect a lot from those areas. We are hopefully taking another trip this summer, but most of the historical spots are still closed so my history postings from the road will probably be limited.
Class Notes
The US had little interest in the Middle East until the Cold War. With the Cold War we defined new goals towards the region. First, we wanted to keep Russia from the rich oil resources. Second, we wanted to keep the peace. Happy people did not have revolutions and a divided Middle East might turn some towards the Soviets. Our third was to preserve the state of Israel. We were on shaky grounds with them until JFK recognized them as a nation. Lastly, our fourth goal was to protect the sea lanes and trade.
Historically Speaking 