Beyond Iraq: A New U.S. Strategy for the Middle East.

• Author: DeAtkine, Novell

BEYOND IRAQ: A New U.S. Strategy for the Middle East

http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20090101faessay88104/richard-n-haass-martin-indyk/beyond-iraq.html

By Richard N. Haass and Martin Indyk

Reviewed by Colonel Norvell DeAtkine

The authors, President of the Council on Foreign Relations and Director of the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy, have laid out an ambitious Middle East strategy for President Obama. Their opening statement posits that U.S. policy has been dominated for too long by Iraq and that this must be superseded by a focus on the real danger destabilizing the Middle East--the imminent emergence of a nuclear-empowered Iran. To that end, the authors suggest that new president engage--directly, officially, and without preconditions--with the Iranian government, while at the same time laying the ground work for an international effort to impose tougher sanctions on Iran should it fail to respond. They see preventive use of military force as a "last ditch" option. To ensure Israeli patience during extended diplomatic exchanges, they would deter Iranian attacks on Israel with a "nuclear guarantee" and provision of an advanced ballistic missile defense.

Elaborating on the proposed policy toward Iran, the authors outline a four-step process. The United States should begin with a multilateral group modeled on the current six-party talks with the North Koreans. Nor should the United States insist on Iran abandoning its enrichment program as a precondition for direct American-Iranian talks, but should instead listen to Iran's claim to having the "right" to continue its uranium enrichment program. The United States should, finally, engage in parallel direct negotiations with Iran in order to normalize relations. The authors argue that from step-by-step participation in this process Iran will earn the right to proceed rather than receive a free pass. The authors also contend that the new U.S. president should initiate the process immediately and not wait for the election of a more reasonable Iranian government in June of 2009.

Coincident with this process, the United States should launch a renewed effort to draw Syria into an Israeli-Syrian peace accord...