- Published: September 18, 2022
- Updated: September 18, 2022
- University / College: Washington University in St. Louis
- Level: Secondary School
- Language: English
- Downloads: 19
Envi 423 27 January The Real Deal on Middle East Oil Oftentimes people take sides on major issues even before they’ve heard the whole story from all sides. It is time to set the facts straight and see the big picture on how the world perceives the Middle East and its oil (Central Intelligence Agency).
The general consensus is that Middle East nations are immensely rich, even richer than the “ super power” countries; however, upon comparing the 2012 the total GDP of the Arab League states ($2. 504 trillion) to that of the individual GDPs of the United Kingdom ($2. 44 trillion), France ($2. 579 trillion), Germany ($3. 383 trillion), Japan ($5. 88 trillion), and the United States ($16. 02 trillion), it is safe to say that the Arab League members are not as rich as these “ super power” countries (Central Intelligence Agency).
A lot of the recent commotion in the Middle East is about Israel’s opposition of letting Occupied Palestine (referred to as West Bank or Gaza Strip) become an independent state because the territory that Palestine wants to occupy would pose a great loss to the resources of Israel and its citizens. According to the CIA World Fact Book, Israel’s 2012 GDP is $254 billion while Palestine’s GDP is merely 2. 6% of Israel’s ($ 6. 641 billion). 2. 6% of a country’s GDP is not such a big loss if it will result to peace and finally ending the bloodshed between Israel, Palestine and their allies (Central Intelligence Agency).
Ethnocentric mentality and greed are the culprits behind these twisted assumptions that many people from Western countries have. But in the end, it is neither the individual citizens of the Middle East countries nor that of the West benefit from all these politics and turmoil surrounding Middle East Oil. The ordinary citizens carry the costs while corrupt government officials and top company executives get insanely rich. The issue with Middle East Oil extends beyond politics and power, the real deal is in the equal distribution of resources on all levels of society across the different countries, whether oil exporting or not (Central Intelligence Agency).
Reference
Central Inteligence Agency. The World Fact Book: Field Listing: GDP (Official Exchange Rate). 2012. Web. 27 January 2014.
