If you know, you know.
Critics of U.S. policy in the Middle East have long argued that Washington’s core priorities are less about democracy than about energy , maritime control , and the political economy of permanent insecurity . The public record does not prove every part of that case, but it does show something important: American leaders have repeatedly described the region in terms of oil flows, “freedom of navigation,” deterrence, and arms partnerships. Those are not fringe interpretations. They are recurring themes in official statements, speeches, and policy decisions. Take oil first. Donald Trump has repeatedly used language that made critics’ suspicions hard to dismiss. Reuters reported in April 2026 that Trump said the United States could open the Strait of Hormuz and “take the oil and make a fortune,” reviving a theme he had used years earlier when speaking about Iraq’s oil. In 2017, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis publicly distanced himself from Trump’s rhetoric, s...