Summary
Contents
Subject index
Challenges for America in the Middle East offers a comprehensive and contemporary analysis of the foreign policy challenges the United States faces in the Middle East. It takes a close look at the critical policy dilemmas posed by radical Islam, the Arab Spring, the Shia Crescent, and Israel–#x2013;Palestine relations. Authors Richard W. Mansbach and Kirsten L. Taylor examine the issues from a historical perspective and in the context of the current state of affairs, and analyze options for future action. Throughout the text, they emphasize the interplay of foreign and domestic issues in the United States and overseas, and show how that interplay shapes American policy towards the region.
Part III: Israel and Palestine

Mark Wilson/Getty
The conflict between Israel and the Arab Palestinians is among the most durable of Washington’s preoccupations with the Middle East. America has been a staunch friend of Israel since its birth in 1948. Americans view Israel as a rare Middle Eastern democracy and an outpost of U.S. values. Both are economically developed and democratic countries with dense economic and social ties. They support human rights (though Israel has violated Palestinian rights) and stress individualism and free-market capitalism. Although sentiment and shared values explain much of the relationship, Israel is also a stable, powerful, and valuable geopolitical ally in an unstable and violent region, where it fosters American interests. Israel ...
- Loading...