The supercilious idea of the United States that, by toppling Saddam Hussein, can rapidly democratize Iraq and unleash a democratic tsunami in the Middle East, has metamorphosed into an apocalypse that swept the core nations of the region. Chaos and destruction became the “manifest destiny” of these peoples and democracy became a dangerous fantasy. The United States' record of building democracy after invading other countries is mixed at best and the Bush administration’s commitment to state-building efforts in Iraq is doubtful. The United States have failed at developing democracy in the Middle East – which has led to increased instability and anarchy – because U.S. foreign policy has misunderstood the formula for building democracy in the region. The United States is just the latest Western nation to fail in the Middle East. The repercussions of a miscalculated intervention in Iraq were likely to complicate the spread of democracy in the Middle East rather than to promote it. Instead of developing democratic governments in the region the US intervention paved the way for the emergence of more oppressive radical groups that hijacked the reins of power from the legitimate governments and anguished peoples’ lives through acts of terror and bullying. The new paradox that Bush’s neoconservative government created in Iraq and the Middle East has turned a lofty project of democratization into a disaster of destruction. While ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) has seized core leadership positions in Syria, Iraq and other places, it is putting in practice the larger tripartite plan of the disintegration of the Middle East. In the process of establishing the Islamic Caliphate, ISIL is sowing the seeds of its own destruction as the U.S. contemplates increased military action in the Middle East, specifically authorization of military force in Syria. However, if the US desires to preserve American preferential treatment in the region it should reconsider the policies that created so much anarchy.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- The American Lofty Project for the Middle East
- The Neoconservatives' View
- Neoconservatives Plan for the Region's Future
- Another Conspiracy Theory? Does it Matter?
- Failure of Democratization
- How Does ISIL feature in all this?
- Selling Unrest
- US Record on Interventions Abroad
- The Mirage of the Arab Spring
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This text analyzes the US's role in the Middle East from the Iraq War to the rise of ISIL, exploring the failure of democracy promotion and its consequences for the region.
- The US's ambition to democratize the Middle East following the Iraq War
- The role of neoconservative ideology in shaping US policy
- The failure of democracy promotion in the Middle East and the rise of instability
- The emergence of ISIL and its impact on the region
- The US's strategic interests in the Middle East and the consequences of its interventions
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
- Introduction: This chapter establishes the context of the US's intervention in the Middle East, arguing that its ambition to democratize the region has backfired, leading to the rise of ISIL. It highlights the paradoxical entanglement of the US in a war against ISIL, a group it indirectly helped create.
- The American Lofty Project for the Middle East: This chapter delves into the strategic significance of the Middle East, particularly its oil resources, and the US's long-standing attempts to influence the region. It highlights the US's support for authoritarian regimes and its use of the rhetoric of democracy as a pretext for interventions.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The text revolves around key concepts like American foreign policy, neoconservatives, Middle East, democracy promotion, and ISIL. It analyzes the failure of US democracy promotion in the Middle East, exploring the role of neoconservative ideology and the unintended consequences of US interventions.
- Quote paper
- Abdelkrim Dekhakhena (Author), 2017, The New Project for the Middle East. From US Democracy Promotion to ISIL Destruction, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/448265
