- 01/12/2012
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
The U.S. Assistant Secretary George Krol outlined five key priorities of official U.S. policy in the Middle East:
1. Increase cooperation with countries to support the efforts of the International Security Assistance Force.
2. Development and diversification of energy resources in the region. Middle East countries have a lot of energy that must developed and establish an international energy security. So countries should benefit from international experience and strive to diversify trade relations with various countries.
3. Support for political liberalization and respect of human rights. According to George Krol, the Obama administration is trying to impose political principles of the Middle Eastcountries, but this does not mean that the U.S. would not continue to actively support democratic governance and human rights.
But the path the Obama administration should take is to engage in a serious discussion with Congress about a gradual but profound reassessment of U.S. policies in the Middle East. The Anti-Taliban campaign held by Washington in Afghanistan, gave a real chance for the United States to consolidate its military presence in the region. Moreover, the U.S. army today advocated for these countries as an indispensable defender from threats of terrorism, or that much closer to Islamic extremism. (Ottaway et. al, 2008)
Conclusion
This paper analyzed the development of the situation in and around the Middle East region, the U.S. foreign policy in the region, that include democracy promotion policy and activities. The conclusion from all the said above can be:
– the Middle East region is becoming increasingly important for the implementation of U.S. foreign policy strategy, aimed at strengthening its influence in the region;
– many see the U.S. foreign policy as obstructionist and selfish, and the U.S. Middle East policy is identified as the cause of anti-Americanism;
– in order to prevent future terrorist attacks, it is essential that the U.S. have partners to work with to identify and destroy terrorist threats, support the U.S. war on terrorism
– The new Middle East policy of the President Obama Administration should avoid the policy flaws of George Bush administration, that is stated in the new policy course of the US in the Middle East.
Works cited
Albright , Madeline K. and Co-Chairs, Vin Weber. “In Support of Arab Democracy: Why and How” Council on Foreign Relations. Independent Task Force Report No.54, 2005.
Epstein Susan B., Serafino Nina M., and Francis T. Miko. “Democracy Promotion: Cornerstone of U.S. Foreign Policy?”. CRS report for Congress, 2007. Web. 10 August 2010
Gerges, Fawaz. “The Tragedy of Arab-American Relations”. Christian Science Monitor, September 18, 2001.
Levin, Yuval. American Aid to the Middle East: A Tragedy of Good Intentions. Web. 10 August 2010
Ottaway Marina, Brown Nathan, Amr Hamzawy, Karim Sadjadpour and Paul Salem. The New Middle East. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 2008. Web. 10 August 2010
Peterson, Peter. Finding America’s Voice: A Strategy for Reinvigorating U.S. Public Diplomacy. Report of an Independent Task Force Sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations. 2003.
Rubin, Barry. Middle East Review of International Affairs, Vol. 5, No. 4 (December 2001).
Sharp, Jeremy M . U.S. Democracy Promotion Policy in the Middle East: The Islamist Dilemma . 2006. Web. 10 August 2010
U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. Building America’s Public Diplomacy Through a Reformed Structure and Additional Resources. U.S. Dept of State, 2002
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