The Middle East During The Cold War

The Middle East During The Cold War The impact of the rivalry between Soviet Union and United States in the Cold War distorted internal politics and exacerbated or complicated regional conflicts. Indeed, the grafting of the USA/USSR competition over pre-existing Middle Eastern rivalries in several cases intensified them. At the same time, though, and in some cases, the Middle Eastern political à ©lites themselves made use of the Cold War to pursue their own interests of hegemony, security or colonial emancipation. Following Khalidi (2009) in assuming that during the Cold War the level of penetration of the Soviet and American influence was proportional to the degree of the strategic importance of the region, I will first discuss the strategic and geopolitical features of the Middle East. Secondly, I will describe some significant historical events, in order to show how the Cold War logic affected the area and how it shaped the regions political reality, both from a regional and a domestic point of view. The cold War and the Middle East The Cold War dominated world politics from the end of the WW2 to the collapse of Soviet Union. On 5 March 1946, when Churchill pronounced its famous speech at Westminster University, in Fulton, Missouri, describing Europe as divided by an iron curtain, with eastern Europe subjected to the Soviet sphere and the West under American influence, the Cold War was already on going. For more than forty years, superpowers competed ideologically, militarily, technologically and diplomatically. The effects of the rivalry extended all over the World, generating high degree of polarization and aggravating pre-existing conflicts. Although there were no wars fought directly by the two superpowers, proxy confrontations occurred in Southeast Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East. The Middle East was a primary area of contention (Khalidi, 2009). Since WWII, superpowers were aware of its importance, in terms of its strategic geographic location and its vast oilfields and gas deposits. In fact, from a geopolitical point of view, the region lays at the junction of three continents, immediately south to the border of Russia and the Caucasus and it is surrounded by four major seas, namely the Mediterranean, the Black and the Caspian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Before the end of the war, both United States and Soviet Union were already strategically interested in the Middle Easts oil reserve. In fact, not only at the time were the great powers the Worlds major oil producers (Khalidi, 2009), but also the war made them increasingly aware of the strategic role oil had acquired in warfare. Their motorised forces, in fact, were crucially dependent on oil for their propulsion, as were their navies and air forces (Khalidi, 2009). Consequentially, they become intensely concer ned about the risk of their supplies being denied by their enemies and about preserving them. Nonetheless, the regions importance in terms of military strategy and oil supply further established throughout the Cold War. In the late 1950s and until the Cuban missiles crisis of 1962, American missiles launching submarines were based in Turkey; in the 1960s and for about a decade, when a longer range missiles technology became available, American submarines were in Spain, with Soviet antisubmarine naval forces and air units based in Egypt and Turkey. During the 1970s, the military and strategic territorial concern of both powers moved to the Arab Peninsula and the region bordering the Indian Ocean, where the new generation American missiles launching submarines were positioned (Khalid, 2009). Anyway, in the aftermath of the WWII, United States and Soviet Union were already militarily and diplomatically engaged in the region, respectively in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran, and Iranian Azerbaijan and Kurdistan. The Middle East, thus, became a major theatre of bitter rivalries between the great powers, the effects of which would deeply influence and shape its politics and historical dynamics. Conflicts, alliances, nuclear threats and the complex events which occurred in the Middle East during the Cold War were determined by the following underlying forces: fear of the superpowers of being excluded from the control over the region; their attempt to replace Britains power in the Middle East; anti-colonialism and the struggle of Middle Eastern states for the emancipation, which led to their alliances with the superpowers; the emergence of Arab nationalism and the diffusion of the communist ideology. Ideology, indeed, played a fundamental role. It was adopted both in terms of appeal made to potential allies and in terms of economic, political and social models they offered to them (Halliday in Sayigh and Shlaim, 1997). One of the events which reveal the pervasive effects of the international competition in the Region is The Arab cold war of 1958-1970, as Malcolm H. Kerr (1965) has called it. In the aftermath of the Suez crisis, in which both superpowers have supported Egypt and the Arab states against Israel, French and Britain, the pre-war Saudi-American relationship was cemented by the Eisenhower Doctrine and Saudi adherence to it. In his famous speech of January 1957, Eisenhower admitted the strategic importance of the area and denounced the Communist threat in the Middle East and Soviet Unions interest in power politics, which have become clearer with its involvement in the Suez crisis. Soviet political, economic and military aids were depicted by President Eisenhower as International Communisms instruments of domination (Eisenhower, 1957), apparently harmless means to manipulate local instability for Soviet power-purpose. Thus, he authorized the employment of the armed forces of the United Sta tes to secure and protect the territorial integrity and political independence of such nations, requesting such aid, against overt armed aggression from any nation controlled by International Communism (Eisenhower, 1957). The Saudi-American relation exacerbated Saudi relations with Nassers Egypt, a former non-aligned state which was moving closer to the Soviet Union. At the same time a heterogeneous agglomerate of political forces supported by the Soviet Union was formed, including not only communist and radical parties, but also nationalist, pan-Arab, anti-colonialist and bourgeois-democratic groups. In order to balance the secular and radical wave of Arab regimes, as Khalidi (2009) pointed out, Saudi Arabia and its ally United States adopted Islam and religious propaganda as ideological counter-weapon. In this way, Islam became a crucial tool of the American intelligence during the Cold War. The result was a high degree of polarization in the Region, with the Soviet Union aligned with authoritarian nationalist regimes and USA supporting absolute monarchies in Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Arab Gulf States and authoritative regimes in Pakistan, Jordan, Tunisia and Morocco. Another instance of the superpowers influence over regional politics in the Middle East is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although the origin of the conflict has little to do with superpowers rivalry (Halliday, the Cold War competition generated polarization around the issue, fuelling arms race and leading several times to the risk of a nuclear strike. In the first phase of Israel life, namely from its birth in 1948 to the Suez Crisis of 1956, superpowers competed in supporting Israel. Polarization occurred after 1956, with USA supporting Israel and Soviet Union supporting Arab States. The competition took place in terms of armaments supply and economic aids, with the stakes escalating and culminating with the 1968-1970 and the 1973 wars, when Washington declared nuclear alert for the last time in the history of the Cold War. Internally, cold war rivalries distorted economic decisions, domestic policies, social, military and political balances, with the superpowers being responsible of or supporting coups and internal rebellions (Khalidi, 2009). Religion and ideology have been instrumentalised in order to pursuit the Cold War logic of balance of power, with some impacts also on the growth of democracy. Indeed, there was no stress by the United States to promote democracy or Human rights in the area. USA itself covered or supported actions to subvert Middle Eastern democracies such as the American-Britishs coup in Iran, which brought down the elected Mossadeq government and reinstalled the autocratic Mohammad Reza Shah in 1953. This behaviour was coherent with the American security tasks to preserve the Middle East from Communism and export the capitalist logic of free market; tasks which could be effectively pursued by aligning with the wealthy and conservative local elites. Soviet Union, instead, work ed attentively to encourage the development of socialism and distributive logic in the area, trying to appeal to the working classes and local communist parties (Khalidi, 2009). An instance of the pervasive effect of rivalry at the domestic level is the case of Iran. Due to geographical contiguity, Iran felt continuously menaced by the Soviet Union. In the aftermath of the war, though, communism was not perceived by the à ©lites as good option for the development of the country. Thus, at the beginning of the Cold War, United States security interests, coincided with the Iranian ones (). US supported Shah, whose conservative government led to absolutism, corruption and to political stagnation, which, combined with fast modernization and social disruption, contributed to the rise of the Islamic Revolution. USSR also played a role in undermining the power of the Shah. As Rubinstein tells us, although Soviet Union did not directly interfere in the fall of the Shah, communist agents played an important role in spreading discontent in the Iranian oilfields, contributing to the economic paralysis, which undermined the pro-American government. However, concerning the case of Iran, two considerations must be done, which, to different extents, could be applied to several other cases in the region. First, the Cold War did not represent the first case of influence and penetration by a hegemonic power in Persia. In fact, for example, both Russia and Britain had great security and economic interest in the Persian Gulf and intervened several times in the country, both militarily and not. In 1907, in order to balance their influence, the two states agreed to divide Iran; 1942, unsatisfied of its neutrality, they agreed to invade it. Secondly, not only the rivalry logic diverted Iranian domestic policy, but also Iranian (and not only) à ©lites made use of the Cold War and of USA support in order to pursue their security goals and keep itself independent from the Soviet threat, which, as previous events show, had worried them long before the beginning of the USA/USSR competition. Finally, as Halliday (1997) pointed out, the Cold War competition had also another role in the region. It worked as a distraction, diverting attention from domestic problems, which could otherwise be earlier observed and solved. What emerged from the end of the competition and the victory of the West, thus, is just a not distorted and more grasping picture of the region and its pre-existent complexities. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1957eisenhowerdoctrine.html (Eisenhower doctrine)

Standardized Testing Is Counterproductive Essay -- Problems With High

Excessive testing has been integrated in the public school system to measure student intelligence, observe teacher proficiency, and distribute federal funds since the passage of the No Child Left behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001. The (NCLBA) ‘‘called for 100% of the nation’s public school students to become proficient in mathematics and reading by 2014’’ through the usage of standardized testing (Hanson 3). Since the inception of this policy there have been numerous issues involved in these tests. ‘‘Instead of providing equal access for all children, the frenetic use of mandated testing in schools and in teacher education is having the opposite effect’’ (Richardson 34). Standardized testing is an ineffective and outdated tool that creates a counterproductive learning environment; testing enforced by the state should be altered to better accommodate the students needs. The primary function of standardized testing is to provide an accurate measure of student and teacher performance; they fall short of meeting this standard. Test scores don’t accurately reflect a child’s intelligence. One reason for this is that a single test cannot properly show the extent of a child’s knowledge. Language barriers are a determining factor as well, if English is not the primary language of a student they will have a harder time understanding questions and in turn procure lower scores. More problems arise when students enter high school; students don’t try as hard since standardized tests do not affect class grades. Moreover, scores are influenced by external factors. A child’s emotional or mental state during testing is detrimental to their results. Living conditions along with social status affect testing data as well. If a student is upset or living... ... ERIC. Print. Longo, Christopher. ‘‘Fostering Creativity or Teaching to the Test? Implications of State Testing on the Delivery of Science Instruction.’’ Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 2010. ERIC. Print. Phelps, Richard P. ‘‘Characteristics of an Effective Student Testing System.’’ Educational Horizons, 2006. ERIC. Print. Reddell, Samantha. ‘‘High Stakes Testing: Our Children at Risk.’’ Online Submission, 2010. ERIC. Print. Richardson, Brian; Wheeless, Lawrence R. ‘‘Teachers Tattling on Teachers: Policy Attitude and Tenure's Influence on Peer Reporting of Unethical Behavior.’’ International Journal of Educational Reform, 2009. ERIC. Print. Ryan, Katherine E., Allison M. Ryan, Keena Arbuthnot, Maurice Samuels. ‘‘Students' Motivation for Standardized Math Exams.’’ Educational Researcher, 2007. EIRC. Print.

British Columbia

British Columbia is Canada’s western border province. At its north are Yukon and the Northwest Territories while its northwestern border is the U.S. State of Alaska.On its eastern border is another province, Alberta, and on the southern border are the U.S. States of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. It is the third largest province in Canada and encompasses 9.5 percent of the country’s total land area, which makes it around four times the size of Great Britain or more than twice as large as Japan. (Information on BC, 2006, par. 1)Physical geographyTopography. British Columbia boasts of great mountains.   Its highest peak is Fairweather Mountain which is 4,663 meters high and its lowest is Hallam Peak which is just 3,205 meters high.   (Statistics Canada, 2002) Volcanoes also abound in British Columbia although most are dormant. The largest of the seventeen volcanoes is Ruby Mountain and the smallest is called Mount Garibaldi.Water Forms. The Fraser River is one of the most important means of transportation in British Columbia because it directly flows to the Pacific Ocean nest. The province’s Columbia River is the location of 14 hydroelectric dams which is a major power source for its population. Other rivers that lead to the Pacific Ocean are Skeena and Kootenay while the Peace River drains toward the Arctic Ocean.   British Columbia is also the host of many large natural lakes including the Babine, Atlin, Kootenay, Ootsa and Okanagan. (British Columbia, 2007, p. 1)Climate. The climate in British Columbia can vary depending on the area’s location from the Pacific Ocean and the mountain ranges but the province is known for its mild temperature. Snow rarely falls on the coast even during winter but the interior lands can experience very cold temperatures and snow between the months of November to March.The warmest days in summer can be experienced in the interior lands, most especially in the south with temperatures that can go fu rther than 30 ºC while the coast enjoys a temperature range of about 22 to 28 ºC. (Climate and Weather, n.d., par. 1-4)Government and MunicipalitiesBritish Columbia espouses the parliamentary form of government headed by a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the Canadian Governor-General. However, executive power truly emanates from the Premier who comes from the legislature branch because it is the position that appoints 20 ministers to the cabinet that maintains and makes the policies for the province.British Columbia has athe Legislative Assembly (unicameral legislature) which has 79 elected members with five-year terms.   British Columbia is also represented by 36 members in Canada’s House of Commons and has 6 senators all of whom are appointed by the Governor-General.

The history of Egypt and the Fertile Crescent

The history of Egypt and the Fertile Crescent Mesopotamia’s history during the 1st 2nd and 3rd Millenniums BC Mesopotamia has been referred to as the cradle for civilization and has been home most of the important ancient civilizations. The first millennium BC in Mesopotamia was epitomized by imperial dominance. There was dominance by the Neo Assyrian kingdom in the first half of this particular millennium.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The history of Egypt and the Fertile Crescent specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The rise and fall of the Neo- Babylonian Empire led by Nebuchadnezzar characterizes the latter half of this millennium. This was later on followed by the conquest from the East by Cyrus the Great who led the Persians. Hellenism was also an important element that characterized Mesopotamian history. This was followed by the downfall of Alexander the Great around 330BC. It is also important to note that the Minoan period took place in the 2nd mil lennium BC which was between 1900-1300 BC. The legal code was also wrote in this era by Hammurabi and went ahead to conquer Mesopotamia. In the 3rd Millennium BC, there was the building of the great pyramids. Some of the most important pyramids were those of Cheops of Giza (Craig, 2008, p.225) Egypt’s history during the new, old and middle kingdoms It was around 6000 BC when a community of hunter – gathers started settling along the Nile River as they practiced farming. Over time, this community grew and came to be known as the Egyptian Dynasty. Right after Egypt’s unification, the Manetho’s 4th Dynasty began to develop. It was at this particular time that the Egyptian old kingdom was established. The first Egyptian dynasty in this period of time enjoyed the advantages of writing which later on led to the development of the calendar. More so, around 2600BC there was the building of the first pyramid which was known as the Zoser’s monument built at Saqqara (Craig, 2008, p. 65). The middle kingdom period ranged between the 11th and 12th dynasties. This period in time is important because there was a lot of effort by the Egyptian dynasties as they tried to colonize Nubia. Its strategic importance to Egypt is that it was meant to be the Egypt’s trade center in luxurious items. Given that, it was also rich in Gold, Ivory as well as ebony among other items. Due to high demand for manufactured goods and weapons, the Nubians went ahead and established a market place at the second cataract. This place was used by the Egyptians to purchase the very much needed slaves in exchange for the manufactured products.Advertising Looking for essay on ancient history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The new kingdom in Egypt was roughly the last part of the second millennium. That is between (1550-1060). The eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth Dynasties composed this new ki ngdom after the Hyksos were expelled and the country got reunified again by Ahmose. The powers and wealth of the kings in the new kingdom seemed to have been elevated. There was massive construction of buildings, religious centers and mortuary temples all over Thebes. A good number of Egyptian kings led campaigns in areas where they wanted to gain control for instance Palestine. Religion in the history of Mesopotamia and Egypt Religion was an integral part of both Mesopotamia and Egypt. In Early Mesopotamia, the natural happenings were normally attributed to the actions of divine of divine forces which led them to having many gods and goddesses. However, they zeroed down on four creator gods. Egyptians on the other hand relied on religion to guide every aspect of their lives. Egyptians practiced pure polytheism and did not however concentrate on a few specific gods. They apparently had over two thousand gods and goddesses. There were those that were worshiped all over the country su ch as Amun. The Egyptian religion was rather optimistic. This is because it upheld that there would be a rather positive afterlife no matter what one goes through in their earthly lives. Osiris, the most famous god known as the one who gives the law was also considered the guardian for the dead in the other world. On the other hand, Mesopotamian religion was rather dreary and gloomy. The ancient prayers illustrated the need for an establishment of relationships with the gods as well as the goddesses. This is basically because it was assumed that the gods and goddesses viewed humans with not only suspicion. Hence, they would often send catastrophes to act as a reminder to every individual in society of their humanity (Rivstvet, 2006,p.97). Both religions however have one thing in common. They are associated with nature as well as the environment. Most of the gods and goddesses names were for instance derived from nature. More so, most of the natural events were what gave birth to som e gods. For example when there are good rains which lead to a good harvest, the Egyptians in this situation found would give such an event a name. Therefore, whenever they would need a good harvest they would call on the rain god.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The history of Egypt and the Fertile Crescent specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Hebrew historical events in the lush crescent The Hebrews began their journey in Mesopotamia in the 1900s BC travelling through eventually stopping in Egypt in 1500BC. The make up of the Hebrew society consisted of several tribes. During the time with which they were travelling, one of the tribes began considering themselves the chosen ones. Hence they went ahead to use the title, â€Å"soldiers of God† It is sad to note that the Egyptian pharaohs went ahead to enslave them until around 1250BC when Moses their chosen leader led them into freedom. By the 10th century, th e Israelite Kingdom was well established and was economically prosperous. The influence of river valley cultures to their history The ancient Hebrew culture was to some extent suppressed. This was due to the Egyptian imperialism hence many Hebrew generations lived under slavery. Given the situation they could not practice most of their values and beliefs and those who dared to were severely punished. However around 800BC a new culture arose that was more powerful than the Egyptian culture. This was the Greek culture. After the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery the Hebrew and Greek culture were the dominant ones. The dominance of these two cultures gave birth to some sort of conflict between the two as they sort for supremacy. However the Greek were able to win the battle hence the suppression of the Hebrew culture. In spite of all this the unity amongst the Hebrews strengthened and the Hebrew culture was able to influence other cultures such as the European and the Roman (The B ritish Museum, 2011). In short, this paper explains the undertakings of the ancient civilizations. It explains how important contemporary practices such as writing and more so arithmetic’s came into play. The different cultures involved have also been discussed to facilitate better understanding. References Craig, A., et al. (2009). Heritage of world Civilizations (8th Ed.). Prentice Hall: New YorkAdvertising Looking for essay on ancient history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Rivstvet,L. (2006). Legal and archeological territory of the second millennium BC in Northern Mesopotamia. Web. The British Museum. (2011). Ancient Egypt: the new kingdom. Web. Web.

Phase Definition and Examples

Phase Definition and Examples In chemistry and physics, a phase is  a physically distinctive form of matter, such as a solid, liquid, gas, or plasma. A phase of matter is characterized by having relatively uniform chemical and physical properties. Phases are different from states of matter. The states of matter (e.g., liquid, solid, gas) are phases, but matter can exist in different phases yet remain in the same state of matter. For example, liquid mixtures can exist in multiple phases, such as an oil phase and an aqueous phase. The term phase may also be used to describe equilibrium states on a phase diagram. When phase is used in this context, its typically synonymous with a state of matter because the qualities that describe the phase include the organization of matter as well as variables such as temperature and pressure. Phases of Matter The distinct phases used to describe states of matter include: Solid: Closely packed particles with a fixed volume and shapeLiquid: Fluid particles with a fixed volume but variable shapeGas: Fluid particles with neither a fixed volume nor shapePlasma: Charged particles with no fixed volume or shapeBose-Einstein condensate: A diluted, cold boson gasMesophases: Intermediate phases between solid and liquid There may be multiple phases within a single state of matter. For example, a bar of solid iron may contain multiple phases (e.g., martensite, austenite). An oil and water mixture is a liquid that will separate into two phases. Interface At equilibrium, there is a narrow space between two phases where the matter doesnt exhibit properties of either phase. This region, known as interface, may be very thin, yet can exert significant effects.

Environmental science lab Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Environmental science lab - Assignment Example Driving my car has made it possible for me to keep my appointments since I usually arrive at my destinations on time. It is easy to travel by road because I follow the roads, which do not have a lot of traffic. Through road transportation, I am able to reach remote areas, which cannot be accessed by other forms of transportation. It is also economical to buy gas for my car. Road transport has saved a lot of lives; drivers are licensed and they maintain speed limits when driving (Reggiani & Schintler 312). There is a little chance of me to change my mode of transportation since the other modes of transportation such as water or air are not convenient for me. For instance, there are areas, which I frequently visit that do not have water or air transportation. Additionally, travelling by air or water does not guarantee me the privacy I need whenever I am travelling. It is not necessary also for me to change my mode of transport, since the other alternatives are either not readily available and they are extremely expensive (Reggiani & Schintler

The United States Move to IFRS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The United States Move to IFRS - Essay Example One positive aspect of the IFRS is it allows the management of companies to have more desertion when it comes to asset valuation, which in turn can increase company income. In fact European companies, who made the switch from the GAAP to the IFRS in 2002, reported that eighty two percent of their companies had higher income under the IFRS than under the GAAP (Briginshaw, 2008). Due to this fact most would assume that investors would be for the switch, there are some other aspects to consider, however. One aspect is that the reports of higher incomes of these European companies came from the same year. So the companies actually had the same profits and expenditures, yet the IFRS reported a higher income yield than that of the GAAP which leaves some investors wondering how accurate the IFRS reports really are. This means that a dollar profit calculated under the IFRS will hold less meaning that one calculated under the GAAP so investors will have to change there way of thinking as far as profits are concerned. Also because the IFRS reports are not quiet as current as the GAAP are they will show less association between reported earnings and stock prices. Overall this means that investors are going to have to relearn and rethink how they read the reports they are given. This knowledge will in turn, however, give them more expertise in investing in companies outside the U.S. Multinational Companies For multinational companies who have long been dealing with converging the two sets of standards, this is a long awaited change. The switch to IFRS will allow them to coordinate all of their accounting systems under one set of guidelines whether the branch is located in the U.S. or another country. This will also be of use... The United States’ Move to IFRS The United States’ Move to IFRS The world of accounting seems to be on the precipice of undergoing a dramatic change in the United States. For more than seventy years the United States accounting system has relied on a set of generally accepted accounting principles known as the GAAP. These principles set out by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), guide accountants in preparing, presenting, and reporting financial statements for various entities, including: publicly-traded and privately-held companies, non-profit organizations, and governments. They are implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The globalization of business and finance has led to over twelve thousand companies in more than one hundred nations to adopt an internationally recognized set of accounting principles known as the International Financial Reporting System (IFRS) (â€Å"International Financial Reporting,† 2010). With many of the United States’ companies expan ding overseas, and foreign corporations now purchasing companies in the United States, there has been a huge push for the United States to forgo there use of the GAAP and adopt the new IFRS standards. So on August 27, 2008 the SEC set out a road map for all U.S. companies to adopt the IFRS by 2014 and some of the large companies started adopting them as early as 2009. If the SEC calls for a higher standard in the IFRS before and while adapting it, then it seems to be a win for all countries and companies involved.