no vacuum in the middle ea

It was US secretary of state John Foster Dulles (1888-1959) who first described the Middle East as a “vacuum” that needed to be filled. There was before Cold War adversaries like the Soviet Union, China and other “communist” powers moved in to fill said vacuum. Dulles’ proposed strategy was the policy of containment, which was based on a series of defence pacts to block and isolate those adversaries. The Cold War was escalating and the superpowers were in a race over spheres of influence in this strategically located region with its vast resources of oil, which had become an essential commodity in times of war and peace. 

More: https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/50/1204/472175/AlAhram-Weekly/Opinion/No-vacuum-in-the-Middle-East.aspx#:~