The Middle East Oil And The U S National Security Policy

The text focuses on three interrelated subject areas that are at the heart of the current foreign and national security dilemma: the Middle East, energy policy, and military manpower policy. Remedying these obvious cases of policy dysfunction would create opportunities for less confrontational, adversary-driven foreign and defense posture.

Oil and Terrorism in the New Gulf examines the national security implications of U.S. energy security policies in the Middle East, and the emerging U.S. involvement in oil exploration and extraction in West Africa. Similar political, social, and economic challenges_poverty, corruption, lack of infrastructure, and weak governments_are seen in the oil-producing states of both the Middle East and Africa. Drawing comparisons between these two regions allows Forest and Sousa to formulate policy recommendations for how to handle foreign policy toward Africa in the future based on lessons learned from past interaction with the Middle East. Oil and Terrorism in the New Gulf promises to inform a lively debate over the future of U.S. foreign policies toward Africa and is a valuable resource for policymakers and the academic community that should be approached in a coherent, integrated fashion to ensure the success of the United State's energy and national security agendas.

Revised thesis on the demand for Middle Eastern petroleum in the USA and implications thereof for us foreign policy in the period up to aug 1973 - focuses on the us position in petroleum international markets, considers political aspects and military aspects, etc., and identifies a need to revitalize government policies with regard to energy. Bibliography pp. 261 to 279, references and statistical tables.

The last six years have witnessed a virtually unending debate over U.S. policy toward Iraq, a debate that is likely to continue well into the new administration and perhaps the next, notwithstanding recent improvements on the ground. Too often, however, the debate has been narrowly framed in terms of the situation in Iraq and what steps the United States should take there next, leaving the broader impact of the war on American interests largely overlooked. Ultimately, though, the success and failure of the war will have to be judged in terms of its overall contribution to U.S. national security, including those repercussions that extend far beyond the borders of Iraq. This book addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive evaluation of the consequences of the Iraq war for the national security of the United States. It is aimed at both those who have not yet made up their minds about the merits of the war and those who wish to ground their opinions in a clearer understanding of what effects the war has actually had. Balance Sheet examines both how the war has advanced or retarded the achievement of other important goals of U.S. national security policy and its impact on the ability of the United States to pursue its security interests now and in the future. Individual chapters by expert authors address such key issues as the war on terror, nuclear non-proliferation, stability in the Middle East, the health of the U.S. military, America's standing in the world, and U.S. public opinion. By doing justice to the full range of stakes involved, this book not only reframes the debate over the Iraq war but provides a necessary foundation for future U.S. policymaking toward Iraq and beyond.

As the world shifts away from the unquestioned American hegemony that followed in the wake of the Cold War, the United States is likely to face new kinds of threats and sharper resource constraints than it has in the past. However, the country's alliances, military institutions, and national security strategy have changed little since the Cold War. American foreign and defense policies, therefore, should be assessed for their fitness for achieving sustainable national security amidst the dynamism of the international political economy, changing domestic politics, and even a changing climate. This book brings together sixteen leading scholars from across political science, history, and political economy to highlight a range of American security considerations that deserve a larger role in both scholarship and strategic decision-making. In these chapters, scholars of political economy and the American defense budget examine the economic engine that underlies U.S. military might and the ways the country deploys these vast (but finite) resources. Historians illuminate how past great powers coped with changing international orders through strategic and institutional innovations. And regional experts assess America's current long-term engagements, from NATO to the chaos of the Middle East to the web of alliances in Asia, deepening understandings that help guard against both costly commitments and short-sighted retrenchments. This interdisciplinary volume sets an agenda for future scholarship that links politics, economics, and history in pursuit of sustainable security for the United States - and greater peace and stability for Americans and non-Americans alike.

As a new administration reshapes American security policy, a leading scholar of U.S. foreign relations and national security reviews the most critical problems facing the Middle East, and the United States policy and actions to address them.