Your explanation helps me quite a bit. I have a slightly better grasp of what’s at stake in that area.
I haven’t dug into it, but the French also play in that ballpark (not just in oil), but they have managed to keep a really low profile, so I’m not sure which team they are backing. Everyone looks at Iran-Saudi, Russia-US, Syria-Israel, but the French are out there behind the scenes.
The other thing to keep in mind is that there really aren’t any good guys (dispensationalists would disagree as to one player)in the middle east. Saddam was about the only local who would protect Christians, and you see how he was stabbed in the back (and by whom).