Diplomacy in the Middle East: Arab Allies Push Their Own Agendas

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In The Media

Diplomacy in the Middle East: Arab Allies Push Their Own Agendas

Regimes in the Middle East that have long been friendly to the United States are increasingly reluctant to follow Washington’s lead; they follow the policies they believe best protect their interests.

By Marina Ottaway

Published on Feb 26, 2009

Source: Harvard International Review

Diplomacy in the Middle East: Arab Allies Push The During the Cold War, countries of the Middle East, like most around the world, were divided into allies of the United States and allies of the Soviet Union. US allies sought Washington’s security protection and in general followed its lead except in policy toward Israel—on that topic, even the most staunchly pro-US countries diverged sharply from Washington. Countries aligned with the Soviet Union followed Moscow’s lead and were hostile to both the United States and Israel.

Today the alignment of the Middle East is quite different, but not in the way the United States envisaged after the disappearance of the Soviet Union. The number of Arab governments truly antagonistic to the United States dwindled to almost none once Saddam Hussein was removed from power in early 2003 and Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi renounced the pursuit of nuclear weapons and turned to the West later that year. Even Syria and the Sudan would like to establish better ties to the United States. However, regimes that have long been friendly to the United States are increasingly reluctant to follow Washington’s lead on any issue. They are not enemies of the United States, but they are not faithful allies, either. Rather, they follow the policies they believe best protect their interests, regardless of what the United States wants.

This article originall appeared in the Harvard International Review. Click here to read the full article.

About the Author

Marina Ottaway

Former Senior Associate, Middle East Program

Before joining the Endowment, Ottaway carried out research in Africa and in the Middle East for many years and taught at the University of Addis Ababa, the University of Zambia, the American University in Cairo, and the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.

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