When I worked at the U.S. consulate in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, I often visited the nearby Saudi Aramco oil complex. I was told that the first productive oil well, Dammam No. 7, struck in the mid 1930’s by U.S. oilmen, was still flowing. Whether this was true or not, I don’t know, but many other wells certainly were. They produced the black gold that grew a fortune for Saudi Arabia.

Until the discovery of oil, the United States had little interest in the Middle East. World War II called for oil to fuel war efforts. Then followed the American love affair with suburbs and the automobile.

The Mideast had oil, and we wanted it. A half century later, we were in the midst of oil wars and terrorism. Now Arab protestors want change, but brutal dictators don’t want them to have it.

We yearn for a perfect solution or merely to forget about the place. But harsh events draw us back. Baggage from our past involvement prevents us from walking away.

We are annoyed because easy solutions can’t be found. It challenges our can do attitude. We thought we could solve the problems of Afghanistan and Iraq as easily as we invent digital gadgets.

We broke the Taliban (so we thought) in Afghanistan and brought down Saddam’s Iraq. Unfortunately, we began wars in both places with little knowledge about the history of the region and its multitude of tribes and languages and its ancient hatreds.

Why should we be surprised at the ethnic mayhem that resulted?