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==Middle East==

==Middle East==

In the [[Middle East[], now commonly called [[West Asia]], the collapse of the [[USSR]] orphaned [[Iraq]] and [[Syria]], both of which had remained part of the shrunken [[Soviet]] sphere of influence that followed [[Egypt]]'s defection to America after the [[Camp David Accords]] in 1979. No longer constrained by [[Moscow]], Iraq gambled that it could alleviate the [[financial]] exhaustion of the eight-year [[Iran-Iraq War]] by seizing [[Kuwait]] and its [[oil]] riches. In response, a [[UN]]-authorized [[coalition]] of forces led by the [[United States]] and [[Saudi Arabia]] liberated Kuwait. Syria joined this coalition, signaling a willingness to explore relations with the United States as a partial substitute for the support of the vanished USSR, but was rebuffed due to its hostility to [[Israel]].

In the [[Middle East]], now commonly called [[West Asia]], the collapse of the [[USSR]] orphaned [[Iraq]] and [[Syria]], both of which had remained part of the shrunken [[Soviet]] sphere of influence that followed [[Egypt]]'s defection to America after the [[Camp David Accords]] in 1979. No longer constrained by [[Moscow]], Iraq gambled that it could alleviate the [[financial]] exhaustion of the eight-year [[Iran-Iraq War]] by seizing [[Kuwait]] and its [[oil]] riches. In response, a [[UN]]-authorized [[coalition]] of forces led by the [[United States]] and [[Saudi Arabia]] liberated Kuwait. Syria joined this coalition, signaling a willingness to explore relations with the United States as a partial substitute for the support of the vanished USSR, but was rebuffed due to its hostility to [[Israel]].

In 2003, the United States [[Iraq war|invaded Iraq]], ousted its [[government]], and attempted to incorporate it into the American [[politico]]-[[military]] sphere of influence. The U.S. achieved military dominance in Iraq only to see [[Iran]] gain a paramount position in its politics. The concurrent U.S. effort to engineer [[regime change]] in Syria failed, entrenching Iranian influence there and providing an unexpected opportunity for a resurgence of [[Russian]] influence in the [[Assad government]]. The destabilization of Iraq and Syria provoked a backlash by [[Islamist]] [[extremist]]s, who briefly erased the border between the two and established an "[[Islamic State]]." [[Turkiye]] incorporated parts of northern Iraq and Syria into its military and [[economic]] spheres. The United States established a blatantly [[illegal]] military presence in Syria. After the withdrawal of all but a residual U.S. military training mission, [[China]] became the preeminent foreign participant in the Iraqi economy. Meanwhile, "[[fracking]]" enabled the United States to resume its historic status as a major [[energy]] [[export]]er and made it the swing producer in global energy [[market]]s. This reduced the centrality of the [[Persian Gulf]] in U.S. global [[policy]]. The [[American]] commitment to Persian Gulf [[security]] diminished concomitantly.

In 2003, the United States [[Iraq war|invaded Iraq]], ousted its [[government]], and attempted to incorporate it into the American [[politico]]-[[military]] sphere of influence. The U.S. achieved military dominance in Iraq only to see [[Iran]] gain a paramount position in its politics. The concurrent U.S. effort to engineer [[regime change]] in Syria failed, entrenching Iranian influence there and providing an unexpected opportunity for a resurgence of [[Russian]] influence in the [[Assad government]]. The destabilization of Iraq and Syria provoked a backlash by [[Islamist]] [[extremist]]s, who briefly erased the border between the two and established an "[[Islamic State]]." [[Turkiye]] incorporated parts of northern Iraq and Syria into its military and [[economic]] spheres. The United States established a blatantly [[illegal]] military presence in Syria. After the withdrawal of all but a residual U.S. military training mission, [[China]] became the preeminent foreign participant in the Iraqi economy. Meanwhile, "[[fracking]]" enabled the United States to resume its historic status as a major [[energy]] [[export]]er and made it the swing producer in global energy [[market]]s. This reduced the centrality of the [[Persian Gulf]] in U.S. global [[policy]]. The [[American]] commitment to Persian Gulf [[security]] diminished concomitantly.