Oriental always meant the Far East. I'm also not sure when or why it became disfavored as a term for people. It was actually a very good word because it was clear that it included East and Southeast Asians but not South Asians or West Asians. Say "Asian" in London and they'll think you're talking about someone from India or Pakistan.
On that note, I really don't like the US term "Middle East" because it implies that it's in between two other types of East, but in reality we use it to mean "Near East", which is what people in the UK say (more correctly).
From here, Europe would be the near East, but we don't bother with that for some reason. East is less fitting than Middle, when you get right down to it, since that region is basically in the middle of everything, and has been from day one. Maybe it's Middle East, not in the sense of "between two other Easts" but in the sense of "In the middle of the East(ern hemisphere)". The US military in the region is referred to as Central, as in CENTCOM and so forth.
“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.” GK Chesteron
Inde muagdhe Aes Sedai misain ye!
Deus Vult!
*MySmiley*