The American Involvement in the Politics of Middle East - Essay Example

The American Involvement in the Politics of Middle East Americans invaded Iraq in 2003 because of many reasons. The covered in depth the reasons why Americans sent troops to Iraq soil. The main reason relates to the 9/11 attacks. Some analysts still point to the Gulf War in 1991 as another reason for the war. President Bush decided to invade Iraq because he wanted to capture Saddam Hussein. Saddam sponsored terrorism activities and practised high-level breach of human rights. America viewed Saddam as a regional threat. Furthermore, America wanted to instil democracy in Afghanistan. The paper is going to evaluate critically the issues surrounding the American involvement in the politics of Middle East. The relationship between the Jews, Israel and Americans were one of the issues that contributed significantly to the learning of the course. Experts blame prominent American Jews for escalating the Iraq war. Even in Iraq, people on the streets referred to American soldiers as Jews. It is evident there exist a rift between the Jews and the Iraqis. The Muslim people label the Americans, Jews and Israelites as their main enemies. When Bush declared war on Iraq, experts say he was supporting the Jews. He wanted to assist the Israelites. High-ranking officials in Bush's administration were Jews. The officials took part in making the decision to invade Iraq. Iraq was Israel's chief enemy. They proved to be high economic competitors to Israel. It affected the economy of Israel because of these economic competitions. The war was like an activity of saving Israel1. Saddam Hussein was not a major threat to America. He posed only a risk of launching a nuclear attack towards Israel. America did a wrong thing in capturing and executing Saddam. Bush wanted to prove that his administration was supporting the growth of Israel. He supported every action that Israel Prime Minister, Sharon, wanted to do. In many of his speeches, Bush reinstated his wish of a strong bond between the Jews and Americans. US had an opinion that the security of the world depends on the security of Israel. By that, the US had strategic plans to fight terrorism in the Middle East, which posed a threat to Israel. Terrorism was a global menace. US viewed Israel as a strategic country to fight terror in Middle East. The Jewish state had planned war on Iraq long time ago. It all began in 1996 when Israel's government planned an attack on Iraq. The government of Israel put the strategy into a paper, and the respective authors of the document later became influential figures in Bush administration. US foreign policy is another issue that contributed significantly to the learning of the course. Their policy is to discourage any country that supports communism. It was a way of discouraging any form of Soviet system. Another US foreign policy is war on terror. They have declared total war on any terrorists in the world. After bombing of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the 9/11 attacks, America attacked Afghanistan to root out the Taliban. There foreign policy led to US attacking Iraq to capture Saddam2. US wanted to impose their democratic culture in every country. After invading Iraq, they captured Saddam and overthrew his undemocratic rule. US have a foreign policy of imposing democracy on any country they invade. Many countries distance themselves from this American policy, because it is like colonisation. The Americans wanted to instil democracy in Iraq, but they did not understand the political state of that country. By removing Saddam from power, US had removed Sunni community from controlling Iraq. The Shiite took control, and they had good relations with the US. History indicates that the US always relies on the Sunni community for support. The supports come in implementing American policy in countries like, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. It would be tedious for the US to control Iran because the Sunni is not in power in Iraq. There are many terrorist groups in Iran, such as the Hezbollah. Hamas too is another terrorist group that is against Israel. It would be hard to implement US foreign policy in Iran. The Bush government was trying its best to spread democracy in the Middle East. It would not take a short time to experience democracy in these countries. US foreign policy on the war between Iran and Iraq was to play a neutral part. They wanted to act from the international law perspective. They wanted to lead by example in uniting countries. The same applies on their invasion for Iraq. The US did not want to favour either the government or the people. They wanted to implement their foreign policy of both democracy and fighting terrorism. Experts argue that, the foreign policies were the main reason for the Iraq war. They further claim the US foreign policy poses a challenge in adhering to human rights. Their participation in war resulted to deaths of many civilians and soldiers3. The third issue that contributed significantly to the learning of the course is the Muslims decreeing a holy war on Saddam. Saudi Arabia had the highest body that was in charge of religious activities. The body declared war on Saddam, with participation of all Muslims. The war was to force Saddam evict soldiers from Kuwait. The war was against even the people that supported the Iraq administration. The war was to be holy, and the highest religious body nicknamed it the 'fatwa.' Fatwa was the beginning of the invasion of Iraq by other external forces; US included. The fatwa required not only Muslims to participate in overthrowing Saddam, but also the non-Muslims. People viewed Saddam as an outcast and a person who does not respect God. He was an enemy of religion4. The Americans joined in the war. They sent troops to Baghdad, which assisted in the uprising. US knew Saddam was a threat to international security. He wanted to launch nuclear attacks against Israel. The war was also against terrorism. Furthermore, his administration was undemocratic. It had killed many people, especially their invasion of Kuwait. US acted swiftly and captured Saddam. In the end, the international community appreciated what America had done. Weakening of US position in the Middle East is an example that strongly stipulates the region's problems. The war has created more problems than benefits. The Iraqi leaders did not even thank the Americans after the completion of their mission. The war caused the death of many people and destruction of property. With the attacks, it is evident that the Iraqi people would want revenge. The revenge comes when there is increased terrorism and retaliatory attacks. There was displacement of people from their homes. They ended up as refugees in other countries. They suffered from harsh conditions of living. US did not take into consideration the population it has displaced. The people of Iraq hate the US for this. Soldiers from US destroyed many properties and reduced the country's infrastructure to nothing. Up to now, there is no same level of production in Iraq factories. Furthermore, the people suffered from physical injuries. The people were innocent, and the scars will forever remain in their lives5. The effects of the war weakened American influence in the Middle East. The US did not create any ally from the war. The main agenda of the American government was to spread their American Foreign policy to Iraq. In the end, the Iraqi themselves voted for a government that supported Tehran rather than Washington. The US is still trying to implement its foreign policy in the Middle East. Currently, it is supporting the toppling of Syrian government and supporting any ideologies of Israel. Iraq is not supporting either of these policies. They are against what the US is doing because they left a bad name back in Iraq. US are trying to force Iran to abandon its Iran policy of nuclear weapons. The Iranian government cannot follow what the US is saying, because it has no same bargaining power as it had before. The Iraq war reduced the influence of US in the Middle East. The US was brutal in their Iraqi operation. They did not go as per the wishes of the Iraqi government. All the brutality and stubbornness of US in Iraqi has reduced the influence of US in the Middle East. The world has experience Arab Springs in the recent years, but the US has failed to persuade any country to stop the uprisings. Moreover, before the beginning of the war, the US thought is going to push for their policies in the Middle East. To the contrary, they did not succeed in pushing any policies. They left a bad image and damaged their reputation as a superpower. The Arab Spring ousted many dictators from power and the US wanted the Arab countries to choose leaders who would work with Washington. The Arab people did not take heed of the US wishes. The people chose their Islamic leaders out of their own will. Nowadays, US allies in the Middle East such as Palestine Authority, Israel and Saudi Arabia are operating on their issues with minimal Washington influence. Reshaping of the Middle East politics and strategic landscape are the opportunity the Iraq war brought in the region. The Iranian government became the new superpower in the Middle East. Furthermore, the US invasion helped Russia and China explore hidden opportunities in the region. Before Americans invaded Iraq, there was a fight of control of the region between Iraq and Iran. There was no balance of power. The war reshaped this imbalance, and Iran took over after the toppling of Saddam. The war changed the culture of leadership in the Arab countries. Nowadays, the leaders in that region have learnt to be tolerant and inclusive of engagements. They have learnt to accommodate the will of the people. There has been a general political reform6. The war reduced the influence of US in the Middle East. The countries learnt to be independent of Washington's influence. More so, there have been experiences of a cold war in the region. The cold war has seen the balance of politics in the Middle East. The war influenced the countries in the region to explore their security system. They should not rely on external forces to quail their internal conflicts7. The war made countries in the region build their confidence on tackling issues like terrorism and authoritarian leaders. They learnt the methods of tackling the issues because the US led by example. China and Russia helped rebuild the economy of the region. They created opportunities such as employment and access to improved social amenities8. The war enabled people in the region to enjoy democracy. They learnt to live without torture and political injustices. After the toppling of Saddam, the democratic Shiite leadership replaced the undemocratic Sunni leadership. People had an opportunity to elect democratically their own leaders. After the war, Turkey and the US created very good relations. Turkey admired every bit of US foreign policy. The relationship between Turkey and the US could help mediate in the current situation, in Syria. Syria and Turkey are neighbours, and they have the Geographical advantage of tackling the war. Since time in memorial, the women had no opportunity in the Middle East region. They faced discrimination and never took part in the economic building. The government of that time was discriminatory against the women. The situation started getting better, when the US intervened in the removal of the undemocratic government. The women could now enjoy democracy for the first time and had a place in the society. The women benefited a lot from this war. After the war, Baghdad is growing steadily. There has been a sense of security. Banks have started opening branches across Iraq and most companies have started business operations. The Iraq oil industry is starting to grow. It accounted for a greater portion in the country's GDP. Most telecommunication companies have started operating in Iraq. The problem is that, big investors still fear the security situation of Iraq. The government is trying very hard to woo investors in the country. There are many opportunities in Iraq, but it will require time to reach full potential. The issue that has influenced the mutual understanding between the U.S people and the peoples of the Middle East is for America to tame the neoconservative view of the Islamic world. The neoconservatives always view Islam as a terrorist group. Most of the neoconservatives are Jewish. They want to finish completely the enemies of Israel. The US has to abandon the views of the neoconservatives. They have declared war on the Islamic nations and have named Islam as the enemy of the people. It does not go well with the people of Middle East. Those people deserve respect and dignity. After the fall of the Soviet Union, America was looking for a new enemy. They settled for the Muslim Nations. The ones who settled for this decision were neoconservatives who occupied influential positions in the government. The US should separate the role of religion from politics. It is the main reason for the frosty relationship between US and the Middle East. It would be evident for US to respect the Middle East because they contribute a lot to the world's economy. The US should understand who the terrorists are and negate the views of neoconservatives9. Read More