US and Middle East International Relations

Introduction

The history and the last events on the world arena showed that the sphere of international relations in the Middle East represents one of the most discussed and politically sharpened issues in world politics. The role of the United States is, obviously, substantial in the region.

The activity of the terroristic organizations and insurgent troops which represent the threat to the safety of the other states and the world as a whole requires careful attention and actions from the side of the political leaders. Besides, the political regimes established in the majority of the Middle East states are authoritative. Some experts and political leaders claim that the dictatorship regimes are observed in some countries.

However, the political and social situation in the region is not only affected by the political regime and ideology. What is more important, it is not only influenced by the interests of the leaders of the Middle East countries. Taking into consideration the geographic position of the Middle East representing the bridge between China as the largest and the most powerful state in Asia and European states, the Middle East is the cornerstone in the world political stability and economic development.

US and Iraq

The war in Iraq is one of the most significant events in modern world history. The military interference of the United States in the country provoked the debates around the world on the grounds and consequences of such kind of interference, the political implications, the overall expediency of the third party interference in the internal politics of the state, and many others.

Nowadays, Iraq still remains the hot spot on the planet. Despite the official end of the war in 2011, peace, social order, and the safety of people have not been achieved there. “Faced with security crises across the Mideast, North Africa, and Asia, the White House largely has turned its attention away from Iraq since U.S. forces left in 2011” (Jakes par.2).

The Iraq authorities do not have enough resources to provide security in the country and, after the war interference, the aid of other states is necessary to overcome the long-drawn crisis. Al-Qa’ida still makes attacks killing thousands of civilian population. “Britain and the UN denounced the attacks while the US reissued a $US10 million ($10.9m) bounty for information leading to the killing or capture of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of the front group” (“Al-Qa’ida claims” par. 11).

US and Syria

The war conflict in Syria is one of the most recent issues in the world. The United States takes an active political position in the situation. U.S. intelligence agencies have recently disclosed the chemical weapon attack by the Syrian government on the neighborhoods nearby Damascus, the capital of the state (Tobassum & Hosenball par.1). The use of the weapon of mass destruction in any of the part of the planet signals the threat to the world community.

The U.S. intelligence agencies findings of the weapon of mass destruction usage by Saddam Hussein were the occasion of the US military troops sending to Iraq (Tobassum & Hosenball par.7). The military interference of the United States in Syria is the most debated issue today. “Syria’s Foreign Ministry repeated the government’s denial it had used chemical weapons and said Kerry’s accusations were a “desperate attempt” to justify a military strike” (Tobassum & Hosenball par.12).

The representatives of the European Union do not exclude the probability of the chemical weapon attacks by the government of Bashar-al-Assad and called the attacks as “a crime against humanity” (“Syrian chemical weapons” par.1). However, the European foreign ministers claimed that “any punitive military attack should not be carried out until the delivery of a report by United Nations inspectors” (“Syrian chemical weapons” par. 2).

US and Afghanistan

The war in Afghanistan is the period in modern history lasting from 1979 to 1989. American military troops became involved in the country to overthrow the regime established by the radical Islamic movement Taliban. Nowadays the situation in the country remains difficult and the recovered social order is fragile.

The military units of the United States are attacked by Afghan forces from time to time. “The attacks come as Nato and Afghan forces are in more intimate contact, with foreign troops handing over security to the Afghans and continuing to train them prior to an almost total withdrawal by the end of 2014” (“Three US Soldiers Killed” par.8). In my opinion, as the situation remains unstable, the security in the country will not be achieved in the nearest future.

The US and the Palestinian-Israeli Issue

“Israelis and Palestinians are both in favor of US President Barack Obama increasing his involvement in resolving the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, despite differing views on the reality of a peaceful two-state solution and the means to achieving an independent Palestinian state” (“Israelis, Palestinians” par.1). I guess this step should not be taken by the US government because the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is hard to be solved by the military interference of the third parties and it will only lead to the American army casualties.

US and Egypt

The current situation in Egypt is rather unstable as well. Besides, the political collapse and social protests became the background for the provision of aid by the United States. “The situation is an enormously sensitive matter, seeing that Egypt is a key ally at peace with Israel and a strategic lynchpin in the volatile Middle East” (Yellin par. 11). The issue provokes a lot of debates in the world. The involvement of the United States in the conflict in Egypt can sharpen the overall situation in the Middle East.

The Egyptian military-backed government consolidated power in the country and the US government should soon make a decision on whether to sustain aid to Egypt (“U.S. Losses” par.1). The controversy around the issue is supported by the discussed probability of the current Egyptian government turning to the dictatorship regime while obtaining additional resources from the United States.

US and Turkey

In the Syrian conflict, Turkey is the ally of the United States. However, the government of the country emphasizes the necessity of the war intervention and claims that it will join any international coalition against the Syrian government even if it will contrast the resolution of the United Nations Organization (Zalewski par.2).

Turkey minister Davutoğlu described his country position as follows: “Turkey’s priority is for the U.N. Security Council to adopt a unified position and impose sanctions against those who commit crimes against humanity” (“The US Assures Turkey” par. 7). In my opinion, Turkey adheres to radical position and its support military involvement can be explained by the geopolitical interests of the country.

The US and the Gulf States

The United Arab Emirates is the state of the Persian Gulf. In 2011, when there were concerns about the development of nuclear weapon by Iran, the world community expected a new hot spot on the planet. The United States took an active part in the situation. In particular, Washington made a deal with the UAE government to deliver advance antimissile interception system to the country (Wolf par.1).

The delivery of the critical defense system was explained by the geographic position of the UAE which borders Iran by the Persian Gulf (Wolf par. 6). In my opinion, the delivery of the defensive system to the UAE was both the strategic and diplomatic move of the United States. It was a strategic move due to the high probability of war intervention, on the one hand. On the other hand, it was a diplomatic move aimed at making a tension on the Iran government.

The view of the Russian newspaper journalist is as follows: “Qatar seems to position itself to be qualified as a mediator, with the U.S. blessing, trying to achieve by the country’s financial leverage what the U.S. could not achieve militarily, or could achieve but with a much more expensive cost in money and souls” (Nasser par. 11).

It can be said that Qatar uses its geographic position and connections in the Muslim world to play a leading role in the region. However, the actions of the country do not always coincide with the US politics and the question arises whether the financial resources sponsored by the US is used by Qatar for the common political purposes.

The US and Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has been a US ally for a long time since the American government signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia to provide the defense for the country. “Saudi Arabia has said it is time for the world to do everything it could to prevent aggression against the Syrian people, and that it would back a US strike on Syria if the Syrian people did” (“Saudi Arabia” par. 1).

In my view, this position is rather ambiguous due to the fears of mass protests against war intervention in Syria inside of Saudi Arabia. In spite of the fact that Saudi Arabia has supported the war operations of the United States in other countries of the region, the internal stability requires the more flexible position of the Saudi Arabia government today.

According to The New York Times, Saudi Arabia is interested in the capital provided by the United States, but it also realizes the serious threat from the side of radical muslins in Syria (Barnard par.13).

In my view, balancing becomes the major strategy of the main players in the region as each of the sides realizes the importance of internal order in the Middle East countries. The war in Syria can provoke the instability and conflicts all over the region, and there are doubts on the expediency of the war intervention in one country if it can cause the bloody war in the others.

Conclusion

The United States remains an active player in the Middle East. However, the situation in the region has never been stable. The military interventions of the American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq undermined the reputation of the United States government in the world. The situation is sharpened by the contradictions between the internal safety and geopolitical interests of the Middle East states.

The countries of the Persian Gulf have been historically the supporters of the US government. However, the issue of military intervention in Syria is considered by them in light of the probable terrorists’ attacks and social disorders inside these countries. That is why, in spite of the long-standing relations with the US, the governments of the Gulf States remain rather cautious.

In my opinion, the military intervention in Syria will not, undoubtedly, lead to security in the country because any war conflict leads to the thousands of casualties among militaries and civilians. Besides, it is hardly believed that the social order will be recovered soon after the intervention. Nevertheless, the regime established by the Syrian government represents the threat not only to the Syrian people but to the world community as a whole.

I agree with the statement of the EU ministers who called the actions of the Syrian government as the “crime against humanity”. That is why I support the active position of the leading countries on the issue. However, I think that the solution should be found in a peaceful manner as the military intervention of the United States and allies can lead to even more victims than the chemical attack of the Syrian government.

Works Cited

“Al-Qa’ida claims credit for Iraq slaughter” The Australian 2013. theaustralian.com. Web.

Barnard, Anne. “Syrian Rebels Say Saudi Arabia Is Stepping Up Weapons Deliveries” The New York Times 2013. nytimes.com. Web.

“Israelis, Palestinians want US strides on conflict”. Jpost 2013. Web.

Jakes, Lara. “Iraq seeks help from US amid growing violence”. Yahoo 2013. Web.

Nasser, Nicola. “Qatar and U.S.: Collusion or conflict of interests”. Pravda 2013. Web.

“Saudi Arabia backs US strike against Syria”. Aljazeera 2013. Web.

“Syrian chemical weapons attack a war crime, says EU”. The Guardian 2013. Web.

Tabassum, Zaharia and M. Hosenball. “In shadow of Iraq, U.S. has ‘high confidence’ Syria carried out chemical attack”. Reuters 2013. Web.

“Three US soldiers killed by member of Afghan forces”.The Guardian 2013. Web.

“U.S. Assures Turkey over ‘Appropriate’ Syria Action”. Hurriy Daily News 2013. Web.

“U.S. Losses Focus on Egypt”. Washington Post 2013. articles. washingtonpost.com. Web.

Wolf, Jim. “U.S. in $3.5 billion arms sale to UAE amid Iran tensions”. Reuters 2011. reuters.com. Web.

Yellin, Jessica. “U.S. officials differ on status of military aid to Egypt”. CNN 2013. edition.cnn.com. Web.

Zalewski, Piotr. “For Turkey, Planned U.S. Missile Strikes on Syria Not Good Enough”. Time 2013. world.time.com. Web.