U.S. MILITARY ENGAGEMENT IN THE BROADER MIDDLE EAST: Part I – James F. Jeffrey – POLICY FOCUS 143 • APRIL 2016

MESOP SPECIAL : PUBLICATION EARLY RELEASE

Reflecting broad foreign policy themes dating to World War I, U.S. grand strategy in the Middle East since the Cold War has focused on establishing and managing a global security system to contain and deter outside threats. Given Eurasia’s demographic and economic/technical strength, a dominant power or powers arising from that region, using modern military technology, could eventually project force against the United States. Whether the United States will continue the laborious task of maintaining regional security and deterring the threats to it is an open question.

And just as these threats are growing, the collapse of the Arab Spring movement has led to disintegrating stability throughout the region, as seen in Libya, Iraq, the Sinai, and, above all, Syria, as well as in the rise of a unique al-Qaeda offspring, the Islamic State, with its quasi-conventional military capabilities and “semistate” profile.

In part one of this two-part study, James F. Jeffrey examines the history of U.S. military engagement in the Middle East, the factors that have driven various decisions, and the results for better or worse. In the second section of the study (forthcoming, April 15), Michael Eisenstadt takes a hard look at current military strategy, offering analytical case studies, recommendations regarding critical national security tasks crucial to success in the Middle East, methods to restore strategic competence, and cautionary remarks on the imperative of understanding the operating environment in all its complexity.

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THE AUTHOR

Ambassador James F. Jeffrey, the Philip Solondz distinguished fellow at The Washington Institute, focuses on U.S. diplomatic and military strategy in the Middle East, in particular Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. In addition to his service as ambassador in Ankara and Baghdad, he served as assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor in the George W. Bush administration, with a special focus on Iran.

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