Research Paper

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Critical thinking paper

Although the United States and the Middle East are physically apart, the United States has influenced the region more than any other country in the world. From strategic interests, competition with the Soviet Union and now Russia, American relationship with the region has ranged from diplomatic friendship to costly wars. Strong cultural ties between the United States and the Middle East, its economic interest in pursuit if the region’s oil reserves and the question of American- Israeli relations have also contributed to America’s foreign policy towards the region and how Arabs view Americans. The top three issues that have significantly contributed to my understanding of this course are the Palestine -Israeli conflict, the war on terrorism, and prevention of nuclear proliferation and weapons of mass destruction.

The Palestine-Israel conflict is perhaps one of the main issues that have contributed to the understanding of the relationship between the United States and the Middle East. This conflict started in 1917 when Britain was given the mandate to create a national home for the Jews by the Balfour declaration. The Arabs resented the movement of Jews into their land, while the Jews claimed that Palestine was their original home. After the Holocaust, the United Nations divided the region of Palestine into two states, one for the Arabs and the other for Jews, but the Arabs rejected the move and a series of conflict started. This conflict has been characterized by terror raids into Israeli territories and Israeli reprisals[footnoteRef:2]. [2: Mark Green, ed., Persecution, Privilege & Power: Reconsidering the Zionist Narrative in American Life, Thirty Essential Articles on the Most Pressing Issue of our Time (2007):]

This conflict is of major significance to American relationship with the Middle East because the United States has continuously supported what the Arabs call the Zionist regime, while Arab nations have always backed Palestine. American support for Israel has come in the form of foreign aid and military equipment, but this has made American relationship with other Arab countries and Palestine a problematic one[footnoteRef:3]. The United States stance to veto an appeal for the creation of an Islamic state by Mahmuod Abbas has contributed to worsen the relationship between the United States and the Middle East. Israel has been accused of killing Palestinians, destroying villages, restricting movement in the West Bank region, destroying olive gardens, assassinating Palestinian leaders and continuing with settlement of Palestinian territories. These acts have been condemned by Arabs nations as acts of terrorism and since the United States is a key ally of Israel, Palestinians perceive it as supporting acts of terrorism. [3: Mearsheimer, John J., and Stephen M. Walt. 2007. The Israel lobby and U.S. foreign policy. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/144227359.html. ]

America’s support for Israel is mainly rooted in cultural ties between the two countries. There are many American citizens with Israeli ties and most of them are represented in American public life. Israeli lobby groups have been influential in ensuring that America’s support for Israel remains strong[footnoteRef:4]. This is evidenced by the interest generated by America’s foreign policy towards Israel during presidential debates. The resentment of America by Arabs is also shown by demands by terror groups that Israel stops atrocities against Palestinians. It is clear the United States must adopt a balanced approach towards the conflict in order for it to improve its image in the eyes of the Arabs. [4: Yes, It's the Lobby: "Political Fear" Drives US Support for Israel http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/pg-abourezk.html]

The war against terrorism has also contributed significantly towards my understanding in this course. The events of September 11, 2001 have defined the relationships between the United States and the Middle East. Since then, the United States has engaged in an anti-terrorism agenda that included attacking Iraq and overthrowing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan[footnoteRef:5]. These countries were seen as supporting al-Qaeda and other terror organizations that pose a security threat to the United States and its allies. However, the war on terror has been waged in a manner that targets Islamic countries and profiles Muslims as terrorists. The war on terror has made citizens of targeted countries victims of military action by the United States and its allies. The application of the euphemistic term “collateral damage” has made citizens of these countries hostage to the global war on terror[footnoteRef:6]. American bombs have killed innocent women and children, disseminated entire villages and cases of American troops abusing innocent civilians and suspected terrorists have been reported[footnoteRef:7]. These acts have helped to strengthen the view among Muslims that the United States is targeting Islam and not terrorism. Bombings carried out by the United States do not discriminate against ordinary citizens and terrorists and this has solidified the view by many Muslims that the acts carried out by the United States are not different from those by terrorists. This view has been exploited by terror groups such as Al Qaeda to portray the United State’s war on terrorism as against Islam and not terror groups. Coupled with the economic challenges faced by many youths in Islamic countries, joining terror groups remains the only option of fighting a worthy cause. The support for the war on terror in the Muslim world has strained the relationship between the United States and the Middle East because of the Palestine conflict. To many Arabs, the United States has sufficient powers over Israel’s foreign policy in terms of drawing clear lines and structuring vital outcomes that have long-term regional implications. This implies that the United States is partly held responsible for the acts of Israel against Palestinians and this brings outs the view among many Muslims that the United States is selective in it war against terrorism. [5: "Saudi Cleric Issues Warning Over Militants," Asharq Alawsat", 01/10/2007: http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=10386] [6: Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko_N4BcaIPY] [7: "Why Do They Hate Us?"--The Palestine-Israel Conflict and the United States: http://faculty.indstate.edu/melyassini/Geography%20of%20the%20Palestine-Israel%20Conflict%20and%20the%20USA--Why%20Do%20They%20Hate%20Us.pdf ]

The question of Iran’s nuclear ambition and American stance is another issue that contributes in understanding United States relationship with the Middle East. The United States has been a strong opponent of Iran’s nuclear program citing as a security risks to its interest, Israel and its Middle East partners[footnoteRef:8]. According to Iran, its oil resources should be utilized in high-value products and not for electricity generation. Iran sees nuclear energy has an alternative to preserving its oil reserves and it sis cost effective compared to developing its oil capacity. These economic arguments by Iran have been supported by United States National Academy of Science. Additionally, Iran believes that the United States and its partners are applying double standards because Israel, Pakistan and India are all nuclear powers, while Iran’s program is for domestic uses only. Iranians have an inalienable right to peaceful nuclear energy technology and it has been a victim of American campaign of intervention, denial, misinformation and obstruction. According to them, its nuclear program has been a subject of exaggerated information and bias by the international community. [8: World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/]

United States seeks to stop Iran’s nuclear program through economic sanctions, negotiations or a military intervention. Iran has suffered before from economic sanctions that have affected its ability to meet the economic and social demands of its population. Additional sanctions will economically affect ordinary Iranians. The United States and its allies on the other hand believe that Iran’s nuclear program posses a threat to its interest and the security of the Middle East. According to the U.S, a nuclear armed Iran will enhance its aggressive foreign policy and increase conflicts with the international community[footnoteRef:9]. The United States also believes that Iran may sponsor global terrorism by sharing nuclear technology with group such as Hezbollah and Hamas. Iran’s nuclear program also posses a threat to America’s allies in the region including Israel, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Already, these countries feel threatened by Iran’s aggressive foreign policy and with nuclear weapons it poses more security threat. Since the Middle East is still a source of energy for America, a nuclear armed Iran will worsen the volatile situation in the region and affect its economic interest. Military intervention may not be feasible at the moment because creating another conflict in a volatile region such as the Middle East may have far reaching consequences. Currently, the region is grappling with the Syrian conflict, Israel-Palestine conflict and the instability in Iraq. Another conflict may spill over to neighboring countries and destabilize it allies. How the United States resolve this issue will have wide implications on its relationship with the Middle East. [9: AIPAC calls for swift action to block U.S. companies supporting Iran: http://jta.org/news/article/2010/03/10/1011010/aipac-calls-for-swift-action-to-block-us-companies-supporting-iran ]

The two examples of the region’s opportunities and problems that have stimulated my critical thinking are its contribution to civilization and its contribution to the global economy. Islamic contributions to the West are numerous and are found in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, agriculture, medicine, architecture and technology. Arabs and Muslims have contributed to the scientific field of mathematics than any other group of people. Algebra, calculus, arithmetic, logarithm, the decimal system, trigonometry and the “zero’ are all traced to the Arab civilization [footnoteRef:10]. The “zero” was developed by the Semitic speakers in Babylon and was incorporated into the mathematical theory during Arab civilization. Modern algebra was discovered by Mohamed Al-Khawarizmi in Bagdad. Arabs have also contributed to astronomy. Abu Abdullah a-Battani was a well known astronomer in Europe and contributed to astronomy by refining the inclination of the ecliptic, showed that the eclipses of the sun existed, refined the annual equinoxes and improved Ptolemy’s astronomical calculations. Al-Biruni contributed to astronomy by precisely determining the latitudes, geodetic measurements, longitudes and the earth’s circumference. In the filed of chemistry, the name “chemistry” is derived from the Arab word “al-keem’ya”[footnoteRef:11]. The Muslim chemist Jabir Ibn Hayyan is regarded as the father of chemistry and some of the chemical terms used in English today such as “sal-amoniac”, “alkali” and “antimony” are attributed to him. Black powder, which is the first explosive discovered was made by the Arabs and not Chinese as widely accepted. The Chinese adopted it from the Arabs. In the filed of physics, Arab scientist Abu Ali Al-Hasan Ibn Al-Haytham contributed to optical theory. He gave the precise nature of vision. The Arab physicist Alhazen Libri published theories on spherical aberration, binocular vision, the rainbow, spherical and parabolic mirrors, and focusing using lenses. His work was utilized by Roger Bacon, Leonardo Da Vinci and Johannes Kepler[footnoteRef:12]. Much of modern western medicine, pharmacology, geography, architecture, literature, music and philosophy came from Arab civilization. These contributions underline the immense potential and opportunities in the Middle East. [10: Arab Contributions to Civilization. http://www.adc.org/education/arab-contributions-to-civilization/] [11: Arab Contributions to Civilization. http://www.adc.org/education/arab-contributions-to-civilization/] [12: Muslim Scholars and Thinkers through the 14th Century. http://www.princeton.edu/~humcomp/scholars.html ]

The contributions of the Middle East are significant to the global economy. One of the reasons cited for America’s interest and obsession with the Middle East is oil and Israel. Almost all the countries in the Middle East produce oil that is used in many parts of the world. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar are some of the leading producers of crude petroleum and natural gas[footnoteRef:13]. The world is still dependent on these natural sources of energy. Anytime conflicts arise in the region, the global prices of oils shoot up as evidenced by conflicts in many Arab countries during the Arab spring. Energy is the main driver of economic growth since all industries rely on some of energy in one way or the other and with the Middle East contributing a significant amount of the global energy; it is obvious that it will attract the attention of global superpowers. Over reliance of petroleum as the only driver of the economy can be both an opportunity and a disadvantage. It is an opportunity because the world is over dependent on petroleum as its primary source of energy and a disadvantage because other sectors of the economy are neglected. Oil riches have also not benefited common citizens because it has remained the preserve of the regime ruling in the Middle East, which are autocratic in nature. [13: OPEC Flows of Crude and Refined Oil, 2008 (Thousand Barrels per Day): http://www.opec.org/library/Annual%20Statistical%20Bulletin/interactive/2008/FileZ/worldmapz.htm]

One finding that has clearly influenced my world view and vision of how to promote mutual understanding between American people and the people of the Middle East is that Islam does not promote terrorism. There has been a raging debate that Islam condones and promotes terrorism and this has influenced the view of most Americans who associate Islam with terrorism. Although there are various texts that support the use of violence in the Quran, it boils down to how individual interpret theses texts. Terrorists have interpreted the Quran to suit their circumstances and use it to brain wash young men to engage in terrorism. When the Quran was revealed, there were no international agencies to expose violence and ensure peace. Individuals and communities had to use violence to defend themselves and their properties from inter-tribal violence. This may be the main reason why the use of violence is mentioned many times in the Quran. As a complete text, the Quran preaches faith, hope and peace[footnoteRef:14]. It also warns it adherents not to oppress or transgress and urges restrain and forgiveness. The teachings of Islam prohibit murder, imposing religion on other people, aggressive warfare, the killing of innocent people and sneak attacks. Terrorism falls into all the above categories. The problem of terrorism is not Islam, but bad ideology. Mutual understanding between Americans and the Middle East can be if promoted by politicians, policy makers and religious leaders play and active role in ensuring that terrorism is not linked to Islam in nay way and by reigning on radical Muslim preachers who use terrorism to recruit young men to join terrorism through false ideologies. [14: Quran: http://faculty.indstate.edu/melyassini/gme%20twenty%20selected%20sets%20of%20verses%20from%20The%20Quran.pdf ]