Obama's Middle East policy studied in this book

  Fawaz Gerges is one of the most pronoun Middle East Scholars outside of our own Ali Muhammed and he wrote a book about Obama and the Middle East called Obama and the Middle East. it is a good book looking at what this expert says is the end of Americas dominance in this region. This book looks through the history of our involvement in the Middle East from the Eisenhower doctrine to the Obama doctrine. The evolution of hardening American attitudes towards Arab nationalists in the fifties and how our support for dictators that the people didn't want was a gradual process that developed with the help of Cold War politics. The support for The Jewish enclave in Israel and the internal disruption of Iranian politics is

mentioned as part of the problem with America and attitudes from Arabs and Muslims. The expansion of the war on terrorism that had been directed t Israel lead to the Bush doctrine and the recent upheavals that it likely helped spread. George W Bush's invasion was the latest of attacks and involvements that Gerges feels can never be rectified in the hears and minds of Middle East Muslims. Basically the Yankee attitude that had been restricted to Latin America have now added the Islamic world and in fact thisis why he calls them doctrines. These are all doctrines similar to the Monroe Doctrine and Gerges writes a chapter on Obama's antidocrinal docrine.

   There is no doubt that Obama represents a total shift he post Cold War era demand s more complex solutions to problems in this region. Critics hae called Obama's reactions and statements defeatist, but the fact is that he has expanded drone trikes and wiped out many terrorists. he helped bail out European allies and their energy investments in Libya and was ready to go to war to help future terrorists in Syria before Russia and China stood up to American expansion. The promotion of democracy cannot be used to suppress those victorious that threaten the status quo that was established from Billions in American investment in places like Egypt. As the author points out only ten percent of US foreign aid is allocated towards the private sector and much money and items are given to autocractics  and their families to loot and enriched themselves a the expense of the population. Fawaz predicts that new states will rise to power in the region in the vacuum of America's withdrawal in the region. Egypt,Iran, and Turkey will be the new powers in the region representing their various Islamic ethnic groups and their success will dwell how the region overall improves for all the people. Withholding military aid will o longer be an available threat for the American empire as these three states grow stronger. The United States will be forced o improve relations with nations like Iran.

   This book is about Obama and in it Gerges writes about the changes and ways Obama has approached the region. He has not departed much from prior Republican administrations but he has a much better understanding of the situations and past injustices and causes of complexity in the region. he plays it extra safe as a politician and especially in these times of the dysfunctional political culture  in the United States. I still say in the eight years he will be in office things have got a little better as the strongman dictators that received billions for their protection of needed resources seems to be over.