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A Grand Strategy for America in the Middle East
Random House
July 2008
On Sale: July 15, 2008
592 pages
ISBN: 1400065488
EAN: 9781400065486
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
The greatest danger to AmericaΓ’β¬β’s peace and prosperity, notes leading Middle East policy analyst Kenneth M. Pollack, lies in the political repression, economic stagnation, and cultural conflict running rampant in Arab and Muslim nations. By inflaming political unrest and empowering terrorists, these forces pose a direct threat to AmericaΓ’β¬β’s economy and national security. The impulse for America might be to turn its back on the Middle East in frustration over the George W. Bush administrationΓ’β¬β’s mishandling of the Iraq War and other engagements with Arab and Muslim countries. But such a move, Pollack asserts, will only exacerbate problems. He counters with the idea that we must continue to make the Middle East a priority in our policy, but in a humbler, more humane, more realistic, and more cohesive way. Pollack argues that WashingtonΓ’β¬β’s greatest sin in its relations with the Middle East has been its persistent unwillingness to make the sustained and patient effort needed to help the people of the Middle East overcome the crippling societal problems facing their governments and societies. As a result, the United States has never had a workable comprehensive policy in the region, just a skein of half-measures intended either to avoid entanglement or to contain the influence of the Soviet Union. Beyond identifying the stagnation of civic life in Arab and Muslim states and the cumulative effect of our misguided policies, Pollack offers a long-term strategy to ameliorate the political, economic, and social problems that underlie the regionΓ’β¬β’s many crises. Through his suggested policies, America can engage directly with the governments of the Middle East and indirectly with its people by means of cultural exchange, commerce, and other Γ’β¬ΕsoftΓ’β¬Β approaches. He carefully examines each of the regionΓ’β¬β’s most contested areas, including Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and explains how the United States can address each through mutually reinforcing policies. At a time when the nation will be facing critical decisions about our continued presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, A Path Out of the Desert is guaranteed to stimulate debate about AmericaΓ’β¬β’s humanitarian, diplomatic, and military involvement in the Middle East.
 Media BuzzOn Point - March 12, 2010
Marketplace - PRI - August 20, 2008
Charlie Rose - July 23, 2008
Daily Show with Jon Stewart - July 16, 2008
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