An informed impartial review of the changes in US Foreign and Strategic Policy during the Obama Presidency, their impact on US image abroad, strengthening of some alliances while weakening of others, with the hindsight of US foreign policy history. A review of the implications of Obama's Pacific focus and its implications for US relations with Europe, China and Russia. A look at Afghanistan, Pakistan and US policy in the Middle East.

CONFLICTED POWER

Obama's US Foreign and Strategic Policy in a Shifting World OrderBy Zubaida Rasul-Ronning

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Zubaida Rasul-Ronning
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4772-7185-8

Contents

Introduction......................................................................................viiChapter 1: US Foreign Policy in the Middle East...................................................1Islamic Mosaic: Interwoven Communities, Interlocking Histories....................................2Map of Dispersion of Religions and Religious Sects in the Middle East (Map 1).....................3Map of Middle East Oil Reserves and Religious Communities (Map 2).................................4Map of US Deployments and US Military Bases in the Middle East (Map 3)............................5Egypt.............................................................................................5Saudi Arabia......................................................................................10Case Study: Bahrain...............................................................................13Iran..............................................................................................20Cameo Analysis: A Case for Cooperation Between Iran and Israel....................................23Israel............................................................................................25Syria.............................................................................................29Chapter 2: US Foreign Policy in the Near East and South Asia......................................37Pakistan..........................................................................................38Afghanistan.......................................................................................43India.............................................................................................46Chapter 3: US Foreign Policy in Africa............................................................49Challenges to Doing Business in Africa............................................................50The Great Lakes: DRC, Rwanda and Uganda...........................................................52Democratic Republic of Congo......................................................................52Rwanda............................................................................................59Uganda............................................................................................61South Africa......................................................................................62Chapter 4: US Foreign Policy in Europe............................................................67Challenges in the Relationship....................................................................68Map of European Colonization of the Middle East (Map 4)...........................................70NATO's Action in Libya: Falling Dominoes and Disruption...........................................71Future of the Arab Spring and Iran................................................................72Changing Focus of the US..........................................................................73Chapter 5: US, Russia and China: Shifting Balances................................................75Russia and China..................................................................................76Russia............................................................................................78China.............................................................................................82Map of US Deployments in the Asia-Pacific Region (Map 5)..........................................83US-China-India-Pakistan...........................................................................85The South China Sea...............................................................................88Map of the South China Sea (Map 6)................................................................88Map of the Spratly Islands (Map 7)................................................................89Australia.........................................................................................91Chapter 6: Concluding Analysis....................................................................93Notes.............................................................................................99About the Author..................................................................................107

Chapter One

US Foreign Policy in the Middle East

"The most striking outcome of the first Obama presidency has been a significant scaling up of the insecurity and instability in the Middle East."

In his first few months in office, President Obama was awarded the Nobel peace prize as a champion of dialogue, negotiations and nuclear disarmament. In 2011, he announced that the US would be accelerating the timetable for pullout from Iraq and then Afghanistan. He followed through on his promise when the US left Iraq later that year. The Arab Spring triggered hopes for a new era of democracy and prosperity in the Middle East, starting with Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya. Today, we have the evolving violence and civil war in Syria. Poised a few months before the elections and at a time when the global community and the US are facing critical decisions on what to do about Syria, it seems an opportune moment to review and study, the successes and challenges of the Obama Middle East strategy—has it worked or has it further destabilized a very tumultuous region, sowing the seeds for longer-term destabilization?

In examining this subject, I want to look at the main Arab countries involved in the the Islamic mosaic that defines allegiances and complexities in the Arab world and the Middle East, as well as, two important constants in the US relationship with the region: oil and the arms trade.

Islamic Mosaic: Interwoven Communities, Interlocking Histories

The countries of the Middle East form part of the mosaic of Islamic, Christian, Jewish and Orthodox communities that have determined the complex history of the region (Map 1) and sown the seeds of many of the present day conflicts. The word "Arab" is used to apply to all these majority and minority inhabitants of the Middle East; the distinction of calling Jewish practitioners `Israeli" only being drawn after the creation of Israel.

The term "Arab" masks significant and deep-rooted ideological differences between the Shiite and the Sunni going back to the fight for leadership of the early Islamic community between the Mecca-based followers of Abu Bakr, the anointed first Khalifa of Islam, and the followers of Hazrat Ali, Hassan and Hussein in Baghdad. The Mecca-dwellers founded Sunni Islam and the Baghdad-dwellers branched off to lead the Shiites. Hazrat Hussein was martyred in a bid to take over the leadership of the Islamic community after the passing of Prophet Mohammed, setting the stage for the division of Islam. Centuries of violence and insurrection have led to a solid bedrock of grievances that fester to this day, barely below the surface in most Middle Eastern countries and in every Arabic heart.

Map of Dispersion of Religions and Religious Sects in the Middle East (Map 1)

Oil: A major motivation of all US foreign policy and particularly of US strategy in the Middle East is continuous access to unlimited crude oil. For decades, this was the only motivation for US engagement in the region, until free trade became a significant component of the US-Middle East...