Much of U.S. Mideast activity is aimed at securing the oil supply. There is another, very serious reason for those actions (I'm not saying it justifies them): Securing the world's energy supply, without which the world economy would stumble and fall. But the activities also benefit U.S. oil companies, and who can say what is necessary for which purpose. Also note that a former oil company CEO was U.S. Secretary of State until recently.