50 Year of US Policy in the Middle East - Essay Example

50 Year of US Policy in the Middle East What issue do you think is likely to be the dominant theme in the study of Middle East today and in the future?  Do you think that the Middle East will continue be on the United Stated foreign policy agenda---For good or for bad? And do you think that the EU (Europe) will compete against the role of the U.S. in the region?  Do we have reasons to fear or welcome the Middle East future? Before oil was discovered in Middle East, this region had become a major target for a myriad of religious conflicts and wars, which were fought over the rich resources found there and the amount of land. When the Ottoman Empire faced a downfall, it provided a path for the European colonial and imperial powers to take matters in their own vested interests and gain access to various parts of Asia, which gradually also enabled them to secure these regions in their own favor. The biggest asset of Middle East is the amount of oil that is concentrated in the region, which has simultaneously also emerged as one of the biggest problems. Therefore the Western population is highly accustomed to the propaganda of the Middle Eastern regions, and this has also brought Islam in the middle. It was especially prominent during the European colonial times, which was also exacerbated by Edward Said in his famous book, “Orientalism”. The way it has been negatively stereotyped has provided tremendous justification for involvement and also in ensuring a certain level of stability for the interests of powers that are present in the region (Shah, 2). Another issue, which is also pivotal to Middle East, is racism and cultural stereotyping that has become very concentrated. There are certain war films that depict an Islamic or Arab group as bad, which clearly show the current conflicts etc. A bad guy is very often an Arab from one of the rogue states and because of the 9/11 attacks perpetrated against the United States and also the War on Terror; it’s very likely that this description will continue. Another huge problem is that to maintain their dominance and supremacy in the Middle Eastern, the West has also put a lot of power, money and influence in the hands of corrupt Arab leaders, and consequently collaborated in the overthrow of those people who were seen as a threat to their interests. Furthermore, it has contributed a great deal in keeping the populations at bay, for the wealth, power and militarization of the elite class. It is also said to be done for combating the phenomena of communism. The major underlying factor has however been the effort to secure access to imperative resources such as oil (Bard, 1). Middle East is one of the most militarized regions in the world, and there are a lot of arms present. Majority of the people who have been oppressed see the influence of the United States in their region as the biggest cause of all the problems, which has also led to a rise in several acts of terrorism, Islamic militancy and anti-west sentiments. Although, there have been several declarations by the United States department that most of the American interests are vested in supporting the foundation of governments based on a democratic edifice, there have been some instances when the U.S has supported the suppressed regimes in the Middle East. When the U.S were having a Cold War with the Soviet Union, there were a few policymakers who saw a very stable ally in the Middle East, whether it was tyrannical or not, which would be more preferred rather than an unstable regime that would side with the Soviets. Even when the Soviet Union collapsed, there was a whole lot of financial assistance and U.S dollars that kept flowing in to the regions, which were supposedly known as the centers for the regulation of human rights, or the evident lack of democracy. This also included Saudi Arabia (where a Wahhabi administration puts restrictions on the rights of women), Israel (which doesn’t promote the concept of equal rights for all its citizens), and the Egyptian government where an Egyptian cum American was imprisoned for supporting voter participation. In addition, the United States has also greatly encouraged the military coups in Tunisia, and very recently the reassigning of power in Syria from Hafez-al-Asad to his son, in spite of the fact that the Syrian Government is built on a republican ideal. The reasons for the American influence in the region isn’t solely due to fossil fuels, the complicated relations of United States with Iraq, Iran and other Gulf states are attributed mainly due to oil, which results in a sufficient amount at a very affordable price. Ever since there have been a large amount of oil deposits which have been discovered in Saudi Arabia, getting access to the region’s oil has been fundamental on America’s foreign policy agenda. The oil boycott and particularly the Kuwait Invasion were extreme examples of how there have been regional forces, which have hindered United State’s access to fuel. Especially, the 1973 boycott was very important because the Arab nations began to supply 37 percent of the oil, which was taken in by the non-communist regions of the world. Keeping this in account, it’s very likely that the Middle East is going to continue being on the foreign policy of the United States. The influence of European politics contributed to a lot of havoc and instability in Middle East, similar to what Africa had experienced sometime back ago and is still coming to terms with. There was especial influence of the British in this region. When the World War 1 was held in 1916, the Arabs were persuaded to fight against the Ottoman Empire. Furthermore, the British administration would also encourage the creation of an autonomous Arab state in the region, which also included Palestine. However, contradicting this notion, the British Foreign Minister, Lord Arthur Balfour announced a declaration known as the Balfour Declaration. This publicly proclaimed the British’s support for the creation of a Jewish home in Palestine (Aberman, 1). The Middle East has been a major source of conflict and hostility between the Europe and United States. During this war, there were a number of issues that also emerged, which included the Palestine-Israel Conflict, the Suez Canal, and also the rise of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. However, because of the harmony due to the Soviet threat in Europe, this did not generate a lot of conflict, nor did it hamper relations. But with the downfall of the Soviet Union, there were certain tasks in Europe, which no longer served to eliminate differences in the region. And therefore, the Middle East has risen at the top of the transatlantic agenda. The significant differences over the Middle Eastern policy have become all the more conspicuous and contributed a great deal in the deterioration of the friendship, which was established during the post-cold war era. In addition, different approaches have been adopted for Middle East. The Atlantic Community has faced several challenges, the maturation of the European Union, strategic differences and the erosion of a moderate brand of internationalism in U.S.A and also the retirement of certain leaders in both United States and Europe. There have been some major policy differences, which have come out as well, such as over the International Criminal Court, the desirability of European harmony and the Kyoto Protocol on global climatic change. However, the transatlantic gap has generated more disagreement than any other issue. There are a lot of differences in Europe and America’s approach to Middle East, which have severed their ties. This includes the concentration of European colonialism in the region, also very different levels of support for the democratic power in the Islamic world, and a very varying pressure and force from the Palestine-Israel conflict. These factors have manifested themselves in the form of sharp and prominent differences between the foreign policy elites. Currently, the influence of the European Union is very evident. The amalgamation of several European Union member states has led to negotiate the end of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, and has also led to United Nations sending its forces to Lebanon to keep the peace Therefore the European Union has been very proactive on the Palestine-Israel front, and has used its influence and finances to incorporate and strengthen more voices within the Palestinian community. The European troops make up a very important portion of the forces, who are trying to instill peace in Afghanistan (Primor, 1). The most visible involvement of Europe in the region is due to the product developments which are very vital to the European Union. They have appointed foreign policy czar which has led to strengthened cooperation amongst the member states. It was the vision of European Union constitution to have a single foreign minister for the union. Since the constitution was rejected in Netherlands and France, this was put on hold. But notwithstanding, the European Union has stressed more lately on the geo-political goals of the union, which will also take them beyond Europe. The rise of the European Union in the Middle East is a result of America’s anguish in the region. When the United States bogged down in Iraq, Washington did not have much choice and therefore it had to turn to Europe to take on more responsibilities in the region. During the 2nd term of the Bush administration, the pros of having Europe as an alliance were discovered. This was not due to the acceptance of multilateralism, but because the havoc in Iraq made it evidentiary to Washington that it needs help in the Middle East, therefore Europe will continue to ally and rebel against U.S in the Middle Eastern regions (Day, 5) References Shah, Anup, Control of Resources; Supporting Dictators, Rise of Terrorism, Published on 30th December, 2002http://www.globalissues.org/article/260/control-of-resources-supporting-dictators-rise-of-terrorism, Accessed 8th December, 2011 Primor, Avi, The International Community and the Conflict, Published in 2004, http://www.pij.org/details.php?id=186, Accessed 8th December, 2011 Day, Finnin, Julie, 50 year of U.S Policy in the Middle East, Published on 27th September, 2001, http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0927/p25s1-wome.html, Accessed 8th December, 2011 Bard, G, Mitchell, U.S Middle East Policy, Published in 2011, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mf21.html, Accessed 8th December, 2011 Aberman, Samara, Debating the news: Iraq, Published on 7th August, 2002, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/debate/iraq.html, Accessed 8th December, 2011 Read More