Teachers, could you help me read this article?♥

Hi, teachers! ?.?

I have started to read an article titled “The limits of energy independence” with a subhead “The Trump administration is ill-equipped for a Middle East crisis that looks increasingly likely” from “The Economist”, which is haunting me.

Because articles about oil and oil prices are what I want to get away from all the time!

Although this one does not contain many numbers and graphs, it still makes me spend more time reading and understanding than other kinds of pieces.

So could you help me read this article? T.t?

Below is the first three paragraphs out of ten!

The limits of energy independence The Trump administration is ill-equipped for a Middle East crisis that looks increasingly likely EVEN WHEN American policy in the Middle East has been about more than oil, it has been about oil. That has sometimes been jarringly obvious, as when Dwight Eisenhower justified his decision to send troops to the region in 1958 on the basis that it was the “birthplace of three great religions”, as well as having “two-thirds of the presently known oil deposits”. At other times the oiliness of America’s policy has been more subtle, or partial. George W. Bush invaded Iraq in 2003 for several reasons: (1)to secure its weapons of mass destruction, to spread democracy, and, his would-be successor John McCain acknowledged, to guarantee America’s oil supply. Donald Trump’s commitment to reducing America’s involvement in the Middle East also relates to (2)the black stuff. It is justified in part by the shale-oil revolution that has made America the world’s biggest producer, lessening its dependence on the region. The administration’s effort to promote Saudi Arabia as a regional proxy, (3)to help effect its withdrawal, is also somehow oleaginous. The president’s Middle East consigliere, Jared Kushner, sees the country’s crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman as an (4)oil-important ally against Iran and (5)potential ally for Israel. Mr Trump views the Saudis as oil-rich buyers of American arms and property. Both oil-related (6)struts of his Middle East policy looked shaky even before the meltdown in oil markets that began last month. A spike in the oil price in September, after a drone strike on a Saudi installation, was a reminder that America is still at the mercy of the global oil market and therefore Middle Eastern instability. The Saudis have proved to be an embarrassing proxy. They have additionally failed to make good on almost any of the arms deals the president trumpeted. And the more he has pushed the bilateral relationship, the more politically toxic it has become.

(1)

Teacher, I know a little about “the Iraq War”, of course not that much, and I learned sometime that the U.S. and its allies invaded Iraq for the cause that it had weapons of mass destruction which was breach of international laws. Then shouldn’t the writer of this article have put “remove” in place of “secure”? Those two words have almost opposite meanings, don’t they? Or does the writer want to say “the U.S. wanted to protect its weapons of mass destruction in Iraq because it can use them one day in wartime with Iraq?”

(2)

I googled “the black stuff”, and it shows that “the black stuff” denotes a kind of drink (maybe beer?), which doesn’t match the context! So I guess he used the word instead of “oil” because crude oil just mined from the sea is black, isn’t it? If so, did the writer create the word himself or other native speakers use it at times to call “oil”?

(3)

I see the parenthetical phrase as a to-infinitive as an adjective which modifies “Saudi Arabia” and “its” in the phrase as “an American troop’s”! Is that right? If so, why did the writer put “effect” additionally in it? Isn’t it enough just as “to help its withdrawal”?

(4)

I looked “oil-important” up in a dictionary and found nothing about it! T.t I guess he made a new adjective by combining a noun and an adjective like “reader-friendly” or “oil-free”, didn’t he? Then what does it mean? Maybe important in coping with problems as to oil? Is my guess proper teacher?

(5)

I don’t know much about international relations but I heard that the U.S. and Iran have animosity towards each other, whereas relations between the U.S. and Israel are good! So I understand why Jared Kushner thought the country needed an ally against Iran especially concerning oil issues, but why did he want Saudi Aribia to be an ally for Israel? America and Israel are already in good-neighborliness! Could you explain this part? ?. ?

(6)

I consulted a dictionary but found no meaning that seems to fit with the sentence! It provided two meanings as a noun, one “a rod or bar” and the other “arrogant gait”. Did the writer use the “struts” figuratively meaning the first definition? What does “struts” mean? I don’t know, please explain teacher ?

How much would I be happy if I receive a reply? Thank you teachers for reading my quite long questions and please help me with this article! ?.? ???