Twin Dilemmas: The Arabian Peninsula and American Security.

Abstract

This memorandum considers two dilemmas facing US policymakers in the Arabian Peninsula. The first problem is the US/regional 'dialogue of deaf' concerning the major threat to Arabian peninsular stability. The American position has been that the Soviet Union constitutes the principal threat, either directly or through surrogates. On the other hand, most area governments are concerned primarily with solving the Arab-Israeli impasse, regaining lost land and establishing firmly the principle of Palestinian self-determination. The second dilemma is American capability and credibility as an ally. The author concludes that a short term solution to these dilemmas seems achievable only by pressing forward to assist the regional states in improving their own self-defense capabilities, letting them take the lead in such cooperative efforts as may develop, and by accepting the imperative of a solution to the Arab-Israel confrontation as a necessary first step in focusing attention on Soviet pressures. (Author)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 20, 1981
Accession Number
ADA111472

Entities

People

  • Woolf P. Gross

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Arabia
  • Asia
  • Governments
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • Iraqi-War
  • Middle East
  • Military Facilities
  • National Security
  • Pakistan
  • Saudi Arabia
  • South Asia
  • Southwest Asia
  • United States
  • Ussr
  • War Colleges

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Strategic Security Studies