The problems of the Middle East have become too deep and too wide to be treated in such fashion.ĭaniel L. Again, it has been the American predilection for quick fixes-for slapping a figurative Band-Aid on the latest Middle East conflagration and then trying to ignore it-that has brought us to the current state of affairs. All of them were long in the making, and thus none of them lend themselves to quick fixes. To my mind, a concomitant point is that the problems of the region did not happen overnight, even if some of their symptoms caught us by surprise over the past five years. Unfortunately, successive American administrations have prioritized short-term expediency over long-term strategic benefit, and we missed those opportunities time and again. ![]() Had we wanted to move the region in a better direction, we had many chances to do so. Many of its problems might have been averted or mitigated by different American policies at various points over the past 30-40 years. The United States was not wholly culpable for the current situation in the region, but we were also hardly blameless. The United States continues to have vital interests in the Middle East, and our actions (and inactions) have been an important contribution to its present dismal state. The region’s current dreadful, dangerous situation demands that we reassess American policy toward the Middle East to ask how best we can secure our interests today, and perhaps help guide the region-or key parts of it-toward a better future. During that period, the Middle East has rarely ever seemed “good” and only briefly ever hopeful, but I have never seen its problems as bad as they are now. government at the end of the Iran-Iraq War. I came to Washington and began work on the Middle East in the U.S. Chairman and distinguished Senators, I am honored to be able to appear before you to discuss U.S. Read his testimony in full below or watch the video of the hearing. ![]() Editor’s Note: On March 24, Kenneth Pollack testified before the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services about U.S.
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