I guess Southern Africa is less geopolitical important?
Yes, I’ll go over a couple reasons. Resources: SA and neighbors have gold + gems, luxury items which the US has domestic supply of. Meanwhile the middle east is filled with oil, which the US has a domestic supply of, but not enough to satisfy demand.
Location, SA and neighbors are next to the Cape of good hope which is a Maritime shipping route, but it is superseded by the Suez, and they are far away from the imperial core. Meanwhile the ME has the Suez, and is right next to europe . In particular, Syria and Iraq threaten Turkey’s Southern border which would stretch their lines in case of Soviet invasion.
Domestic reaction: the USA has a sizable black population, a number of which were already radicalized into socialist thought. Supporting SA could further radicalize them and cause issues. Meanwhile the West has neither a large amount of Muslims or Arabs, so who cares about alienating them.
Yes, I’ll go over a couple reasons. Resources: SA and neighbors have gold + gems, luxury items which the US has domestic supply of. Meanwhile the middle east is filled with oil, which the US has a domestic supply of, but not enough to satisfy demand.
Location, SA and neighbors are next to the Cape of good hope which is a Maritime shipping route, but it is superseded by the Suez, and they are far away from the imperial core. Meanwhile the ME has the Suez, and is right next to europe . In particular, Syria and Iraq threaten Turkey’s Southern border which would stretch their lines in case of Soviet invasion.
Domestic reaction: the USA has a sizable black population, a number of which were already radicalized into socialist thought. Supporting SA could further radicalize them and cause issues. Meanwhile the West has neither a large amount of Muslims or Arabs, so who cares about alienating them.