The American era in the Middle East... has ended.... It is one of history's ironies that the first war in Iraq, a war of necessity, marked the beginning of the American era in the Middle East and the second Iraq war, a war of choice, has precipitated its end.... The United States will continue to enjoy more influence in the region than any other outside power, but its influence will be reduced from what it once was.
J. Scott Carpenter, Lawrence Freedman, Mark T. Kimmitt, Martin Kramer, Walter Laqueur, Robert J. Lieber, Michael Mandelbaum, Aaron David Miller, Joshua Muravchik, Robert Satloff and Harvey Sicherman all take a shot at the answer.
MESH is a project of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University. The Olin Institute is part of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs.
MESH is a community of scholars and practitioners who are interested in the formulation of US strategic options for the Middle East. Since 9/11 and the Iraq war, the Middle East has occupied a place of primacy in debates over US global aims and strategies. MESH brings together the most original strategic thinkers in academe, research centers, and government, in a web-based forum for exchanging and disseminating ideas.
Comments
I think Richard Haas is right for many reasons, but chiefly because America has lost any moral authority it once commanded as a beacon of hope for the tiny minority of educated elites in the Middle East that favoured democratic change - an idea deeply antithetic to rulers and the ruled in most of that region. Al Grhaib, Guantanamo, Rendition, and torture have seen to that.
A case in point, exactly what support is America giving to the forces for democratic change in Saudi Arabia - an absolute monarchy?
The answer is zip.
As for the narcissistic drivelling of a bunch of Israel supporters who wish to refute this idea, exactly why do they wish to do this?
The sky is falling! Well, perhaps not quite. As I recently blogged, just got through with reading Robert D. Kaplan's Imperial Grunts. The first twelve pages (Prologue, "Injun Country") might very well be the best short read I have ever done. Unmatched.
If you want to understand the global commitments and the GWOT, read Kaplan's initial pages to this book. This is a powerful work. And it is a good antidote (or perhaps inoculation) to the links cited above. Basically, as you might have guessed, Carpenter has it right - in my opinion. Readers: Take a deep breath and a swig (or four) of your favorite beverage. I am right now.
Thanks to the SWJ editors for a continual stream of good and controversial prose to digest.