On September 11, 2001, members of the Al Qaeda network hijacked four planes, crashing two into the World Trade Center Towers in New York, one into the Pentagon, and one, as the passengers fought for control of the plane, into a field in Pennsylvania killing 2,996 people. At the time, Al Qaeda and its central leadership was based out of Afghanistan and was being protected by the Afghani Taliban Government. The U.S. lent its support to rebel groups in Afghanistan in 2001 in order to overthrow the Taliban and capture Osama bin Laden.

The Republic of Iraq is a nation between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It borders the Persian Gulf and has significant oil reserves.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter through its massive Saudi Aramco state oil company and is a member of OPEC.

Kurds are an ethnic group with 30-32 million members who live in a contiguous region in eastern and southeastern Turkey, western Iran, northern Iraq, and northern Syria. The Kurds a share common ancestry, culture, and language (Kurdish). Most Kurds are Sunni Muslim, although many Iranian Kurds are Shia Muslims. Small numbers of Kurds follow Yezidism and Yarsanism, which are small indigenous religions. The Kurds are stateless and many Kurds want to break away from the countries that they are living in and form an independent Kurdistan.

Turkey and Israel were both parliamentary democracies. This means that the people elect a legislature and that the legislature chooses one of its members to be the head of the government. In 2018 the Republic of Turkey eliminated the position of Prime Minister and transitioned to a presidential republic.

The Suez Canal connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. It is an important trade route.

Jews moved to Palestine to find a safe homeland following WWII.

Much of the Middle East is extremely dry, with large deserts. The deserts often lack the necessary water supply to support settled agriculture and large human populations.

Persians are an ethnic group native to Iran and make up approximately 60% of the population of that country. Persians share a common ancestry, culture, and language (Persian). Persians are mostly Shia Muslim, although there are small numbers of Christians, Jews, and other religions.

While Saudi Arabia could produce its own food and the United State could produce its own oil, both countries would have to shift resources away from producing goods and services that they are better off making and both countries would have less.

Arabian Sea is south of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi government is one of the few surviving absolute monarchies in the world.

The Turkish economy is focused on manufacturing and resource extraction.

Following the United Nation agreeing to a division of land, Jewish groups declared an independent Nation of Israel in 1948. The Arabs immediately rejected the deal because they felt the division of land was unfair. This began a series of conflicts over control of the land that continues to the present.