No matter how much I read and try to self educate myself about the Middle East varied topics (wars, uprisings, religious conflicts, interests, domestic and foreign relations, and much more), I am always left with the sensation that I don’t have the full picture or that I am missing the piece which will make me understand it all once and for all. But I never seem to find that piece either. As much as the challenge this region of the world poses on me, also the frustration of never fully understanding it embargoes me.
I found this article on Foreign Affairs about why Washington keeps failing in the Middle East and I just couldn’t pass it up. Although this article didn’t do the full click on my mind (for me to understand the region in depth), it did explain some things that made sense to me and gave me a little more perspective on this region’s issues. It was also refreshing to read the opinion of an American “insider” (from 2013 to 2015, the author -Philip Gordon- served in the White House as Special Assistant to President Obama and White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf Region) admitting the eternal failing of the U.S. trying to save the region and why Washington seems to never change its mind about it all despite the decade-long experience.
One of the phrases in the article which caught my attention the most was that Washington (and the U.S. in general), institutions just as human beings, don’t always learn from the mistakes made and despite the outcomes continue repeating over and over the same mistakes. Again, this being said by a man who had power in the decision making not too long ago. The exact phrase was: “Americans also keep placing hope over experience when it comes to Middle East policy because of a persistent tendency to underestimate the degree of resources and commitment it will take to get rid of a hostile regime and stabilize the situation once it is removed”.
After countless interventions, intentions to bring peace and democracy to countries of the region, diplomatic dialogues, and even economic and trade sanctions throughout the decades, the U.S. keeps repeating the same mistakes with the region. In my opinion, 3/4 of the times due to national American interests in doing so and the other 1/4 of the times because of a superhero complex. Nevertheless, and the end of the day, the consequences are always paid by the common men of the region there and here as well.
As it is listed in the article, none of the times the U.S. intervening in some form and shape on the region, the outcome was better than before. Not only more extremist power took over the overthrown governments, countless local lives were lost (not to mention the American soldiers lives lost in conflict), the armed conflicts spread out to neighboring countries and so did the anti-American feeling of the locals and neighbors, devastation and overall hopeless circumstances, but in many cases the situations escalated to unmanageable ends such as internal security vacuums (which is define as “in the absence of security, people feel no alternative but to organize and arm themselves and to turn to kinship networks, tribes, and sects for safety, exacerbating sectarianism and internal rivalries and sometimes leading to demands for secession”).
Having said this, I also give a little credit to Washington only because you can never please people entirely. Yes, we know the U.S. many times goes to “help” when its help is not requested, however: how many times we have also heard “the international community is not acting upon the circumstances and action is needed instead of words and dialogues”? And in all honesty, the international community is the U.S and to some extent Europe. So, sometimes the U.S. is an interventionist, and other times the U.S. does not react fast enough. In this sense, if we want the U.S. to stop minding other people’s businesses, then we also need to stop requesting their actions and help whenever we find it convenient (I know I am being naive but I do feel this way!).
I sincerely recommend this article for someone like me who never fully understands the region and also for the more avid connoisseurs of the region.
Thank you for your time!
Maria Rodriguez Ferreno.
Link to the article: https://fam.ag/2HfPELJ
Maria,
An interesting and obviously heart-felt post! The Middle East has been a quagmire for a long, long time. And you shouldn’t feel badly about not fully understanding the reasons–few, if any, experts actually do. It is BEYOND complicated! But it is also true that the US has not learned from its mistakes–as they saying goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome!
As I mentioned in class, one of the main things that has changed in the last 20 years is that the US is no longer dependent on Middle Eastern oil. This is a significant development. Yet, we are now seeking to counter the growing threat posed by Iran (at least to hear the Trump administration tell it). Perhaps, however, this can be handled differently than our interventions in the past. –Professor Wallerstein