America 's Strategic Thinkers Who Think Asia Essay

The role of the Middle East has been very crucial to the United States, especially after WWII. The U.S. had three strategic goals in the Middle East and consistently followed them throughout various events that unfolded in the region. First, with the emergence of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the U.S., policymakers began to recognize the importance of the Middle East as a strategic area in containing Soviet influence. This also coincides with the U.S. becoming increasingly wary of Arab nationalism and the threat it posed to U.S. influence. Secondly, the emergence of the new Israeli state in 1948 further deepened U.S. policy and involvement in the region while also creating friction between the U.S. and Arab states which were

For the United States, the Gulf region remains one of the most geo-strategically important locations in the world for diplomatic, intelligence cooperation, and business opportunities such as hydrocarbons and arms. This strategic cooperation has provided the region some stability, particularly with the rise of Iran and the Shi’a crescent and the chaotic outcome of the war in Iraq. The council members have also relied on the United State to fend off some of the domestic challenges to the existing regimes that are both internally and regionally rooted.

The Middle East is very important to the US. Many events have happened since our involvement with the Middle East such as the Cold War, the OPEC oil embargo, the Camp David Accords, the Persian Gulf War, and the 9/11 attacks. Over time, the US has went from focusing on containment to natural resources and then defense and safety in the Middle East and America.

The Great Power involvement in the Middle East politics often creates and contributes to more conflicts and wars. The Middle East, a region described by Victor Israelyan as ‘one of sharp confrontation between the two superpowers unavoidably fell victim to such pressures.

For the America, maintaining the “special relationship” with Israel is in line with its interests. First, due to the special geography, Israel can serve as an important backing for the U.S. to preserve its dominance in the Middle East. Second, a powerful Israel with strong military capacity can help the U.S. fight against Islamic extremists and terrorists. Third, supporting Israel is in accord with the broadest conception of the American national interest --- supporting like-minded societies, because US-Israel relationship is based on moral obligation, shared cultural and political values and common strategic interests. Therefore, Israel constitutes “the most enduring and the most immediate interest” (Pollock

Back in 1948 when Israel was founded, World War II was over, and the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was just beginning. This paved the way for the United States to make a strategic move that has shaped the course of American policy to this day. In order to attempt to keep communism from spreading to the volatile region that is the Middle East, the United States created an unwritten alliance with the only country in the Middle East that was willing to do so: Israel. Fast forward to present day and the Cold War is no longer relevant to the purpose of “special relationship” between the US and Israel, but many new benefits have arisen that make the alliance worth maintaining. Critics of the alliance cite the idea that Israel receives more in aid than the United States get in return in benefits and that having Israel as an ally is more of a burden than it is worth. The three main categories in which the United States receives benefits from its alliance with Israel are political, economic, and military. Although critics of the United States’ alliance with Israel believe it is much too burdensome, the political, economic, and military benefits outweigh the negatives and make maintaining the alliance valuable in the future.

In the post -World War II era, the competition of global supremacy between the superpowers of the time, United States and the Soviet Union resulted in the Cold War. Many countries in the world were pulled into this rivalry including many of the states of the Middle East. Allies against the Soviet Union received substantial quantities of United States aid and were encouraged to purchase weapons of Western means. Those who were in opposition to the United States’ power received economic and military assistance from the Soviet Union. The United States were inclined to view the rivalry between them and the Soviet Union as a vie for global supremacy. The challenge of attaining democracy in the Middle East has been insufficient leadership specifically in those who shared a common border and were in proximity to the Soviet Union. The United States, in their determination to impede the threat of expansion of the borders of the Soviet Union as well as contain the spread of communion, provided economic and military assistance to keep Iran, Iraq and Turkey politically stable. Although this was the goal of the United States, they actually impeded the democracy and political stability of these countries through its persistent influence in government affairs, determining its future’s livelihood.

interests between great powers with a million causalities. Either in 1980s or today in twenty-first century, the controversy of US involvement in the Middle East never stops.

The Middle East region has been seeing and absorbing the effects of war and poverty for decades. The United States (U.S.) has provided support in the past to assist the Middle East, and that has been quite successful. For this reason, the U.S., a world superpower, should be directly involved in ending conflict in the Middle East because they possess a capable military, the global economy is directly affected by the Middle East, and the U.S. is capable of peaceful mediation between conflicted areas in the Middle East. The Middle East is a region that has constantly been involved in warfare, and the U.S. has taken appropriate measures to ensure that peace was possible, even in this war-stricken area. The U.S. has also provided aid in regard to the oil reserves in the Middle East, which are significant to global development. This protection allows the industry to continue, and it benefits nations around the world. Lastly, the U.S. has successfully mediated discussion between conflicted nations, like Egypt and Israel, to achieve a common goal that set them on a path for peace. While there are many reasons the U.S. should be involved, one of the most direct reasons is military capability.

The US foreign policy towards the Middle East can be divided into three major epochs the first during the Cold War. Second after the Cold War till the 9/11 event and the third epoch is after the 9/11. During the Cold War the Containment Policy influenced the United States foreign policy in the Middle East. The three main concerns in the Middle East for the United States were oil, protecting Israel, and containing communism made the United States’ foreign policy in the region defensive, reactive, and pragmatic. The United States sought peace and stability within the Middle East region in order to prevent Middle Eastern countries from taking sides between the two superpowers. Preventing war was essential to Containment Policy. After the end

In the past few decades till now, the United States foreign policies were an important factor to deal with many issues around the globe. Starting from the Security Council ending with the country policy, the United States has made many decisions that took negative effect on the country’s security and its relations with other countries. The reason behind these negative effect is the United States foreign policies especially toward the Middle East. These policies are greatly affected by the Israeli lobby in the United States. As John J. Mearsheimer, a professor of Political Science and the co-director of the Program on International Security Policy at the University of Chicago and Stephen Walt, a professor of international affairs at Harvard University 's John F. Kennedy School of Government, mentioned in a documentary published by London Review of Books under the name of “The Israeli Lobby”. They say, “the thrust of US

The geostrategic importance of Middle East is also derived from its psychological and political significance, Pollack (2011). It is a symbolic area serving as the center of the shrines of the three world’s greatest religions, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. The influence of Islam extends from this region to Morocco and profound inside Africa. Therefore, Middle East has changed foreign policies of many world states.

American involvement, interests, and policies in the Middle East have changed dramatically over the past 220-plus years. And if one had to trace how exactly it has changed, the issue of oil and Israel would be at the center. United States foreign policy in the Middle East goes back to the end of the 18th century. It started on the wrong foot with the Barbary Wars right after America was established. The shape of American interests in the Middle East at that time was not so clear, mainly because political and military relations were minimal. Although there were some commercial ties with some Arab countries and Persia, basically American involvement and interests in the Middle East prior to WW I was limited. In the early 1900s, American companies

The discussion began with the article Unfinished Mideast Revolts, written by Jonathan Broader. This article discusses the evolution of the Middle East and how much of the Middle East is currently coming out of, and in some cases still going through difficult revolutions. The article points to three, possibly four, defining stages in the Middle East. The first is the stage of the Cold War, the second is that of the Old Order, the third is the end to the Old Order, and the fourth is the current stage that they are in now. The point was made that much of the Middle East’s resentment to the West originated from the countries such as the United States intervening in several conflicts during the collapse of the Old Regime.

The United States has been involved in the affairs of the Middle East for decades and they’ve had various reasons for being there, whether it was to wage war or to prevent outside influence that would undermine their own influence in the region, it always seemed to revolve around one thing: oil. As we all know, oil is a very profitable resource and it’s a huge part of many nations’ economies and because this is the case many wars are fought over this black liquid. The U.S. is no different in that they did just about anything to maintain their access to Middle East oil. As a result, United States actions in the Middle East today has been formed through the decades long desire for their oil.