Prospects for Security in the Middle East
Abstract
The Middle East has been and remains a region of vital American interests yet how we define our interests and our concerns is very different from how the region would define these words. Our focus is on regional stability and in the Gulf, specifically, on the importance of the continued free flow of oil to global markets. We see threats from the development of WMD capabilities (a nuclear Iran), terrorism, and the ongoing Israeli- Palestinian conflict. Arab leaders and publics are also concerned about regional instability; but they focus first on the Arab-Israeli conflict and the emotion that issue brings to bear on other interests, foremost their ability to have a close relationship with the U.S. Iranians are concerned about national and regime security; for the Gulf it is tribal security, the role of Shia in the political system and the imbalance of power. All Arab regimes are concerned with the economic, social, and political consequences of their failure to meet public expectations be it defending successfully Arab causes or creating a better economic life. Our military presence in the Middle East region continues to be hotly debated and divisive; contradictory is another completely appropriate word. Many Arab governments and even their publics both want us there and want us gone! How can this be? Simply said, they recognize their need for a US military presence for regional security; but they feel and fear the intensity of popular animosity toward the US in the region and see a very visible American military presence as exacerbating that hostility. The United States decision to send American ground forces into the heartland of the Arab and Islamic Middle East is a defining event of significant importance. Many issues, long dormant or under some control, are now in motion. What all this means for the region is, as yet, unknown; but one fact is certain. While we and other actors in the region can influence developments, none of us control the outcome.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 21, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA442141
Entities
People
- Edward W. Gnehm Jr.
Organizations
- National Defense University