In the context of the Cold War, the United States had two objectives in the Middle East: to control the flow of oil and to keep the Soviet Union out. After an initial period when it tried to bring radical secular nationalists into the fold, it turned against them. This meant cultivating all forces that could counter radical secular nationalism and communism. At the top of this list were the Islamists.

XREF: This connects to the broader, well-documented history of US support for Islamist forces during the Cold War as a counterweight to Soviet influence and secular Arab nationalism.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 219