Assad Abu Khalil — This is an important book that you should read about the Middle East: Shadow Wars by Christopher Davidson

His narrative is logically linked from the Western plots after WWI to the current Western policies in the wake of Arab uprisings.… 

It is time that we treat Western intervention in the Middle East as an integral part of domestic Middle East politics...

WWI established petroleum as vital to national security owing to its necessity in military operations, hence the need to secure access to petro resources and ideally control them. Therefore, securing access and denying access to adversaries became a priority from that time. This mandated control of sea and air, as well as territory rich in petro resources.

Angry Arab News Service
This is an important book that you should read about the Middle East: Shadow Wars by Christopher Davidson
Assad Abu Khalil | Professor of Political Science, California State University, Stanislaus