This course is a study of U. S. geopolitical involvement in national and regional affairs of the Middle East from World War I to the present. It is designed to enable the students to place today’s headlines into historical context and provide a range of analytic perspectives to evaluate the motives, methods of implementation and consequences of decisions intended to advance U. S. interests or respond to perceived threats. The course also focuses on the antagonism between America and certain regional forces culminating in the terrorist act of September 11, 2001 and the prolonged U. S. military intervention and counterterrorism in the region.