Member-only story
Calling off the Search for Peace in the Middle East
America may still want peace in the Middle East, but it no longer needs it.
Since the 1970s the Middle East has been the linchpin of US foreign policy. The region was an essential source of oil and increasingly represented the primary source of international terrorism and conflict. In combination with the promotion of democracy, WMD disarmament, and the need to protect Israel as its most important ally in the region, the US search for peace in the Middle East was a cornerstone of US foreign policy for five decades. The most specific and high-profile component of the US promotion of peace has been its attempts to broker a lasting agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Broader approaches to creating peace and stability have included development assistance, nation-building efforts, and ultimately the First and Second Gulf Wars. All of this was done because Middle East Peace was essential to first containing the Soviets and then preserving a hard won US global hegemony.
Much has changed in the last 50 years however and it is time to recognize a simple truth: The United States will always want to see peace in the Middle East, but we no longer need it. America will continue to espouse the rhetoric of peace in the region through the promotion of democracy, protecting free trade, and sensitivity to human rights. But over the last…
