Events Between the U.S. and the Middle East Since the End of the Cold War
As it would be observed, the end of the Cold War in the year 1990 would mark a significant beginning for the entire Middle East. Strategic interests for the region would previously be realized coming from the Soviet Union and the U.S. However, the longstanding competitions between the two super powers would eventually come to end after the Soviet Union decided to withdraw from this part of the world completely, thus granting the U.S. unchallenged dominant position in the region. This monopolistic control of the region by the Americans was viewed by many to be a multifaceted way of imperialism through cultural, ideological and economical focus.
Both the physical and ideological presence of the Americans in the Arabic region since the Post-Cold War Era has triggered a number of significant events to the history of the Middle East (Roskin and Berry 17). Claiming to be undertaking a significant approach in lifting the economical profile of the region, the U.S. would have a strong domination of the entire region and through this; many initiatives and operations would ultimately be realized.
However, the overall U.S. policy in the region is perceived to have achieved very little positively. The U.S. involvement in the Middle East would raise negative perceptions from the internal communities resulting into increasing anger and hatred.
According to Griffin, most of the major events that would be realized between the U.S. and the Middle East would involve war and military interventions (89). This started with the launching of a coalition castigated by the U.S. at the beginning of the year 1991 against the Iraqis who had invaded Kuwait. Another significant event would be realized in 1992 when American Marines landed near the capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, with the aim of ensuring humanitarian aid in the region. The year 1993 would see the U.S. overseeing Oslo’s peace agreement between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel.
Another significant event between the U.S. and the Middle East would come following the events of September 11, when the U.S. embarked on the longstanding ‘War on Terrorism’ against Iraq, starting from October of the same year.
Since the year 2001, the U.S. would start focusing on long-term plans in combating terrorism, a move that would be coupled with the significant goal of promoting market oriented economic advancement and democratic governance in the region. This would be a serious economic embargo of the Iraq instilled by the U.S. to end the tyrannical era of Saddam Hussein and to deter Iraq from further involvement with weapons of mass destruction. These are some of the major events that would be realized between the U.S. and the Middle East in the Post-Cold War Era.
Current Relationship Between the U.S. and the Middle East
For quite a very time now, the U.S. involvement in the Middle East has continued to raise many questions in the international scene (Bill and Springborg 76). Considering the outcome of the recurring events that would be realized as a result of the progressive involvement of the Superpower in the region, the current relationship with the entire region has been a bit harsh and hostile. Among other events, the consequences of the ‘War on Terrorism’ administered by the U.S. against Iraq since 2001 would pose a serious threat on the good relationships observed previously between the Americans and the Arabs in the region.
With the subsiding of the ‘War on Terrorism’ the U.S. comes out as a key player in the Iraq reconstruction exercising every practical action that would be certain to see Iraq realize their lost democracy. This however, is a good approach but it may still not be enough to wipe the underlying animosity between the Superpower and the Middle East.
Current U.S. Diplomatic Approach to China
China-US relationship has been observed to be a bilateral affair for the last few years. The international relationship between the two giant countries is complex and multifaceted as it would be observed by various scholars. Irrespective of the many in-depth analyses that have been done so far regarding China-USA relations, the two countries do not see each as other as adversaries but competitors in many aspects (Metzger and Myers 45).
From the beginning of the year 2010, the US diplomatic ties with China have been more unsteady. As it would be noted from the two governments preceding Obama’s administration, China-US relations would be shown to take a big plunge before going back to normal. The current U.S. diplomatic approaches towards China have taken a soft line since Obama became president of the United States. However, Obama’s conciliatory diplomatic approach on China has been a thorny issue to the Americans who would think that the president is concentrating more on foreign affairs instead of committing himself with important domestic politics.
Comparison of the Two Relationships
Being a Superpower, the US stands to be a very influential country in our world. In this regard, their interactions with other foreign nations would be of significant approach. This is aimed at setting and upholding interaction standards for their corporations, organizations and individual citizens. The America’s Foreign Policy Agenda directs them to establish a strong, prosperous, and democratic world for the benefit of its citizens in general as well as the international communities. This explains the US inconsistent involvement in Parts of the Middle East and China among other regions of the world.
However, unlike China, whose relations with the US would base on technology and economical competition among other factors, the U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East has been viewed to be disputed. It is also clear that, while the U.S. relations with China is more like a mutual affair benefiting both nations, the U.S. relationship with the Middle East remains to be a one-sided fantasy benefiting only the Americans while exploiting the natives (Enders and Sandler 158).
The Way the U.S. Has Changed Its Relation to Other Countries in the Past 20 Years
As observed in the above examples, the U.S. foreign policy towards other nations has been unwavering. It leaves no doubt that, the Foreign Policy Agenda of the U.S. constitutes good policies but the manner through which these policies are administered remains the biggest issue here. Considering the work of various administrators in the American history, the issue of Foreign Policy on other countries has been a subject of criticism since the end of the Cold-War.
Even though some political leaders would exhaust their ambitious expectations to achieve a positive turn on the sector, the U.S. foreign policy other nations has invariably come out as a failure. For instance, even though US- China relations would be regained easily whenever it appears to be losing touch, the U.S. relations with the Middle East has always appeared to be more than an aggressive policy than anything else.
The case of the Middle East however, is not the fault of the Americans but just what Secretary Clinton would best term “the region’s refusal to embrace change.” So far, it has been president Obama’s best interest to express the commitment of his government to cover the loopholes in the U.S. foreign policy agenda and it remains a matter of time to see that a positive approach is achieved in the plan.
Works Cited
Bill, James. and Springborg, Robert. Politics in the Middle East. New York: Little, Brown Boston, 1984. Print.
Enders, Walter and Sandler, Todd. “Transnational terrorism in the post-Cold War era.” International Studies Quarterly 43 (1): 145-167. Print.
Griffin, Keith. Globalization and the developing world: an essay on the international dimensions of development in the post-Cold War era. Switzerland: UNRISD Geneva, 1992. Print.
Metzger, Thomas and Myers, Raman. Greater China and US foreign policy: the choice between confrontation and mutual respect. New York: Hoover Institution Press, 2006. Print.
Roskin, Michael and Berry, Nicholas. IR: The New World of International Relations, Custom Edition. New York: Pearson, 2010. Print.