Obama and the Middle East : the end of America's moment

Title:

Author:

Gerges, Fawaz A., 1958-

ISBN:

9780230113817

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication Information:

New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, c2012.

Physical Description:

viii, 292 p. ; 24 cm.

Contents:

Introduction: the end of America's moment? -- America's encounter with the Middle East: a bitter legacy -- The Bush Doctrine: social engineering -- The Obama "antidoctrinal doctrine'? -- Israeli-Palestinian peace -- The pivotal states: Egypt, Iran, and Turkey -- The War on Terror -- Coclusion: "In for a penny, in for a pound"?

Personal Subject:

Obama, Barack-Political and social views.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Foreign relations -- Middle East.

Middle East -- Foreign relations -- United States.

United States -- Foreign relations -- 2009-

United States -- Foreign relations -- 2001-2009.

Summary:

"During his presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised to distance the United States from the neoconservative foreign policy legacy of his predecessor, George W. Bush, and usher in a new era of a global, interconnected world. More than two years have passed since his inauguration, and the reality of President Obama's approach is in stark contrast to the ebullient and optimistic image that he originally built up. In fact, Obama is not committed to redefining U.S. foreign policy in a transformational way, but to calibrating and correcting the Bush policies, and reclaiming the neorealist approach that defined America's foreign policy since WWII. Taking stock of Obama's first year in the White House, this book places his engagement in the Middle East within the broader context of U.S. foreign policy since 9/11 and examines key areas that have posed a challenge to his administration. Middle East expert Fawaz Gerges highlights the administration's widening credibility gap and lack of resolve and political will to directly confront policy challenges head-on, and offer essential strategic recommendations for advancing U.S. relations with the Muslim world"--

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	327.73056 GER	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A hard-hitting assessment of Obama's current foreign policy and a sweeping look at the future of the Middle East

The 2011 Arab Spring upended the status quo in the Middle East and poses new challenges for the United States. Here, Fawaz Gerges, one of the world's top Middle East scholars, delivers a full picture of US relations with the region. He reaches back to the post-World War II era to explain the issues that have challenged the Obama administration and examines the president's responses, from his negotiations with Israel and Palestine to his drawdown from Afghanistan and withdrawal from Iraq. Evaluating the president's engagement with the Arab Spring, his decision to order the death of Osama bin Laden, his intervention in Libya, his relations with Iran, and other key policy matters, Gerges highlights what must change in order to improve US outcomes in the region.

Gerges' conclusion is sobering: the United States is near the end of its moment in the Middle East. The cynically realist policy it has employed since World War II-continued by the Obama administration--is at the root of current bitterness and mistrust, and it is time to remake American foreign policy.

Author Notes

Fawaz A. Gerges is a professor of Middle Eastern Politics and International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he is chair of the Middle East Centre. He was a senior ABC television news analyst from 2000 until 2007 and has been a guest on Charlie Rose , Oprah, ABC Nightline, and other prominent shows. He has contributed pieces to The New York Times , The Washington Post , International Herald Tribune , Foreign Affairs , Foreign Policy , Middle East Journal , Al Mustaqbal al-Arabi , and many others. He lives in London.

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

The ever-shifting geopolitical, cultural, military, and religious dynamics of America's engagement with the Middle East is optimal ground for serious inquiry in this thoughtful examination of America's standing in the region. Gerges (The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda), chair of the Middle Eastern Center at the London School of Economics, deftly condenses many years-from the Eisenhower Doctrine, to the origin of America's "special relationship" with Israel, to the Arab Spring-into an easily digestible history rife with spot-on analysis. His historical investigation into America's mercurial relationships with the region's dictators-e.g., in the case of Saddam Hussein, going from preventing a UN investigation into his use of chemical weapons to handing him over to the Iraqi Special Tribunal, which found him guilty of crimes against humanity-is juxtaposed with an honest and thorough analysis of how President Obama "has shown no desire to alter the dominant foreign policy narrative on the Middle East." The book is a strong and informative primer on American involvement in the Middle East, but Gerges misses his chance to offer up concrete solutions, beyond positing that Obama must "take risks on people's aspirations for open and representative government" and "seize the moment and.structurally reorient American foreign policy." Announced first printing: 50,000. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Choice Review

When Barack Obama became the US president, he inherited a country on the verge of economic collapse and faced with mounting challenges in the international arena. In the Middle East, the US image was at an all-time low, and the country was faced with two debilitating conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Obama promised the world that he would introduce a new approach to US dealings with the Middle East, based more on understanding and mutual respect and less on militarism and war. In this crisply argued and well-crafted book, Gerges (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK) seeks to shed light on the trials and tribulations of Obama's Middle East policy in his first three years in office. As the author demonstrates, Obama has shown more continuity with the past than change in US foreign policy toward the Middle East. Characterizing Obama's Middle East foreign policy as centrist-realist, Gerges examines how Washington's approach to the old problems of the Middle East has remained paralyzed by both the vagaries of US domestic politics and inability to fully grasp the major political transformations in the region. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All undergraduate, graduate, and research collections. N. Entessar University of South Alabama

Kirkus Review

Gerges (Middle Eastern Politics/London School of Economics; The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda, 2011, etc.) succinctly traces the history of the West's relationship with the Middle East and pulls no punches as he iterates the trail of failed policies. The Middle East has always been a hotbed, but now it is a conflagration waiting to ignite. The dissolution of trust and friendship toward the West, beginning with French and English imperialism up to the current Israeli doctrine of permanent conflict, is reaching critical mass. These ex-colonies wanted development, modernization and relief from economic hardship, while all the West wanted was to thwart communism and control the area's oil. Policy decisions were based on containment of the Soviets, but the focus has now shifted to stifling Iran's influence and that of militant Islamism. As a leading authority on the Middle East, Gerges' extensive research and analysis exposes the effects of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the war on terror and the emerging power of Turkey, Iran and Egypt. The author excoriates the Bush administration and its imperialistic "continuity of failure," from the act of rejecting Iran's offer of help after 9/11 to unilateral war in Iraq. The president's neoconservative advisers used exaggeration, overreaction and crusading impulses to further their goals, tactics that poisoned the entire Middle East against the United States. Obama's attempts at conciliation have been repeatedly stymied by the constraints of the American political system and his own protracted efforts to build consensus. Frustrated Arab states are weary of rhetoric and distrust America's inaction as they turn to the rising powers of Turkey, Egypt and Iran for solutions. Gerges lays out the problems from multiple viewpoints and establishes the points of greatest need. How Obama addresses the challenge to America's hegemony and whether he can stand up to political pressure from home will determine if this is truly the end of America's moment in the Middle East. An exceptional book that thoroughly scrutinizes the struggles of all the nations of the Middle East and doesn't hesitate to distribute blame where it's warranted.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal Review

Gerges (Middle Eastern politics & international relations, London Sch. of Economics and Political Science; The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda) provides an analysis of U.S. interaction with the Middle East during the first three years of the Obama presidency. During his election campaign and in early presidential speeches (most notably in Cairo), Obama expressed a desire to create a new beginning for U.S.-Middle East relations. Gerges examines the gaps between this optimistic rhetoric and the reality of Obama's policies while framing those policies within their historical context. Some of the specific areas he focuses on are the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the War on Terror, the 2011 Arab Spring, and the roles of pivotal states such as Egypt, Iran, and Turkey. In Gerges's assessment, Obama's approach has more closely resembled the realism of post-World War II America than the promised transformative path. He states that without a change in course from a kind of Cold War mentality, the continued decline of U.S. influence in the region is virtually assured. VERDICT- Despite the complexity of the issues involved, this is a highly readable book, recommended for anyone who regularly follows the news in this region.-Brian T. Sullivan, Alfred Univ. Lib., NY (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction: The End of Americas Moment?	p. 1
1 Americas Encounter with the Middle East: A Bitter Legacy	p. 27
2 The Bush Doctrine: Social Engineering	p. 69
3 The Obama "Antidoctrinal Doctrine"?	p. 89
4 Israeli-Palestinian Peace	p. 115
5 The Pivotal States: Egypt, Iran, and Turkey	p. 151
6 The War on Terror	p. 203
Conclusion: "In for a Penny, in for a Pound"?	p. 233
Notes	p. 249
Index	p. 285

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Choice Review

Kirkus Review

Library Journal Review

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