Critical Perspectives On Us Engagement In The Middle East

The Middle East is almost always in the American news, and US forces—whether on the ground or in the air—have been involved in the region almost consistently for generations. Yet many people don’t fully understand the intricacies of US military engagement in the Middle East. This text includes primary source evidence, including experts’ opinions and scientific data, political rhetoric, and court decisions, in order to show students the issue from all sides. Students will evaluate the evidence included in this text to reach their own conclusions on one of the most important issues of our time.

Renewable energy is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the global economy as climate scientists and environmentalists give voice to the detrimental effects of fossil fuels. But how far have we gotten in developing efficient and sustainable energy, including solar, wind, and geothermal power, and what are the benefits of these renewable energy sources compared to fossil fuels? This text examines the issue from diverse viewpoints, allowing students to analyze key ideas in energy production through primary source evidence.

As its interests have become deeply tied to the Middle East, the United States has long sought to develop a usable understanding of the people, politics, and cultures of the region. In Imagining the Middle East, Matthew Jacobs illuminates how Ameri

Using prominent American-style universities as case studies, American Universities in the Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy explores how these institutions relate to U.S. foreign policy interests and how this relationship has evolved from the mid-19th century to today.

This book offers a realist critique of US foreign policy towards the Middle East in the past decade. It critically examines four core foundations of contemporary US Middle East policy: US relations with Saudi Arabia after the Arab Spring; US diplomacy towards Iran and the Obama administration’s policy of engagement; the road to, and aftermath of, the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq; and US policy towards nuclear-armed Israel. Because of a closely guarded bipartisan consensus, these four core foundations of contemporary US Middle East policy have largely evaded public criticism and scrutiny. This book argues that US strategy towards the Middle East has rarely been guided by order, stability and the national interest. Rather, successive administrations have created a house of cards built on a series of deceptions and constructed perceptions or myths. Combined, these four aspects of US Middle East policy have ushered in a decade of political violence, instability, sectarian divisions and an imbalance of power which has culminated in the territorial disintegration of Iraq and countries in the Levant as well as the rise of ISIS. Moving forward requires a rational pursuit of the national interest based on realist principles. This book will be of much interest to students of US foreign policy, Middle Eastern politics, security studies and IR in general.

This book advances a critical analysis of U. S. Middle East policy and offers alternative perspectives. It highlights areas of policy shortcomings in the wake of ongoing global and domestic changes and draws attention to the need for a new and more plausible U. S. policy. The United States and the Middle East evaluates the roots and consequences of post-World War II diplomatic and military initiatives, including the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Palestinian question, United States relations with Iran following the Iranian revolution, Irangate, the reflagging of Kuwaiti tankers, and the war led by the United States against Iraq. The important roles of U. S. media and Middle East studies and education in influencing U. S. foreign policy are also emphasized. A concluding chapter focuses on the ongoing global restructuring and the U. S. quest for world leadership in the wake of the Persian Gulf War.

At a time when relations between the United States and the Middle East seem to be based on mutual misunderstandings, intolerance, violence, and distrust, this cutting-edge collection of essays reveals that the history of this relationship is richer and more complex than recent events suggest. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, relations between the Middle East and the United States were generally quite positive. After World War I, as U.S. policy toward the region took on aspects of European-style imperialism, the relationship began to sour. Written by leading scholars from literary, historical, and political science backgrounds, these essays examine a range of encounters. They analyze early American missionary efforts in the Middle East, views of New York City in Arabic literature, and the development of Middle East studies as an academic field in the United States. Archaeological expeditions, twentieth-century diplomatic relations, and the current war on terror are also discussed.