Story Summary

An interview with U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice in the New York Times a few days ago capped a fascinating debate that has been going on in circles that follow the United States’ Middle East policy – if we should speak of an actual “policy” or perhaps more accurately, in light of Rice’s thoughts, an “attitude” toward the region. Her basic point was that much of what happens in the Middle East is not of direct interest or threat to the U.S. and usually does not impact on core American strategic interests. The Middle East is messy and often violent, but mostly does not worry the U.S. in any direct manner.

Only in Palestinian-Israeli negotiations does the United States expend real energy these days, for very sensible reasons: This long-running conflict and the American official policy of favoring Israel on major issues have been perhaps the most important reasons for the United States’ declining standing in the eyes of people across the region.

The debate within the United States about the role of the U.S. in the Middle East is low-key and peripheral to more pressing domestic and global concerns.

Read more: http://dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2013/Oct-30/236216-a-new-age-in-us-mideast-relations.ashx#ixzz2jHgLppJR
(The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)