Oil In The Modern Middle East: An International Conflict

As many others have observed, the major oil-producing areas of the modern Middle East are in areas surrounded by water (with the exception of Iraq). The MENA map shows these areas as mostly fertile lands (which is not surprising—they are not lacking water to feed vegetation). They are also very flat areas, which make sense as locations for easily accessible oil. Further, it is clear that these regions are areas with a lot of conflict—an understandable result of having oil (and thus money). Oil has always been sought after. Aside from disputes within the Middle East over money and oil, the rest of the world is very concerned with what happens in oil-rich areas. This concern is mostly selfish, because oil is so precious. The problem you always hear about is the one of limited gas for our cars. The initial turmoil in the Middle East is not a result of this need for foreign fuel, but the U.S.'s involvement has undoubtedly made everything more violent and chaotic. Because of the topography of the land by major oil-producing areas—mostly flat, not mountainous—they are not ideal places for fighting. Any conflict that breaks out in those specific regions will be bloody, with many fatalities, because there are no natural covers given by the land. Wars are always awful, but the Middle East has some especially dangerous and, unfortunately, desirable regions to fight over.