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...... However, other regions have not been so lucky. One region which has seen great instability since the decline of major European power after the end of the Cold War has been the Middle East. During the Cold War, much of the Middle East was pitted against one side or the other, serving as pawns within the larger struggle that really had little to do with them. In Afghanistan, American forces helped the local government fight off the Soviets and vice versa occurred in Iraq. However, when the Cold War ended, that stable source of protection, arms, and money was no longer pushed into the region by Eastern and Western forces. For instance, Saddam Hussein had continuously relied on the Soviet Union to bail him out of trouble, for the Soviets had great interest in protecting their interests in the oil rich region. However, Saddam made a major miscalculation in annexing Kuwait; he placed Iraq on a collision course with the West at a time when the Soviet Union was no longer able or willing to bail out Iraq, (Sayigh & Shlaim 1997:286). Thus, thanks to the lack of backing European power, the Middle East has also seen instability thanks

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