Great Sacrifices, Small Rewards. American In the Middle East

Name: Vlad

Per: D

Source: Great Sacrifices, Small Rewards.

The Economist.

Blog Posting: #2

Words: 244

The Middle East is the world’s goldmine of natural resources. And it’s no surprise it also is the biggest generator of political headaches. As one of the leading consumers of fossil fuels, the United States has taken a profound interest in the region. A 20 years ago, when America pushed Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait, there was little or not opposition from the national leaders in the region. But when Radical Islam rose as the sole defying power against this new “American International Order”, things began to get messy. The invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 although being successful in deterring some serious attacks by Al-Qaeda really only solidified America’s position as “the enemy” and significantly drained its national treasury. Everywhere you look it seems American is being thwarted every step of the way. Israel who has been receiving billions of dollars in military aid over the past decade, still continues to build Jewish settlements on Arab occupied land. Iraq has slowly began to develop a shaky kneed government while Iran continues to develop it’s nuclear program. Many of these countries have lost allegiance to America because they no longer feel dependent on American largess. They have grown strong enough to stand on their own with thriving economies and ambitious leaders. Everywhere you look, American efforts have been thwarted, the failure to find WMDs in Saddam’s Iraq and the torture of “enemy combatants” in Guantanamo bay have damaged America’s moral authority.