Twenty-five years ago, the American-led restoration of Kuwait’s sovereignty after the invasion by Iraq represented the peak of American prestige and power at the end of the Cold War. Six months later, the Soviet Union itself was gone. In the intervening years, the Oslo Accords, the Arab Spring, the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak and Moammar Qaddafi, the Syrian Civil War, the rise of ISIS, and the Iran nuclear deal have provided opportunities and setbacks for the projection of American military and diplomatic power. And at home, America’s emergence as an energy power has changed our relationship to oilfields in far off countries. What we gained, what we lost and what we learned is the subject of the Fall 2015 issue of inFOCUS, twenty-five years from the invasion of Kuwait.
Lewis Libby and Hillel Fradkin trace the evolution of U.S. diplomatic policy in the Gulf; Stephen Blank and Benjamin Runkle do the same for our military force structure. Israel’s old ties with the U.S. and newer ones with the Arab States of the Gulf are assessed by Lenny Ben-David and Simon Henderson, respectively. The future of minority populations in the region is the purview of Harold Rhode, and Brandon Friedman and Cui Shoujun explain Russian and Chinese policies in a delicate part of the world. David Wurmser charts a changing energy picture and Ali Alfoneh considers the destructive role Iran plays in the region even without nuclear capabilities.
Don’t miss our interview with Ambassador John Bolton, former Assistant Secretary of State, and Shoshana Bryen’s review of Balkan Ghosts—an oldie but goodie with amazing relevance.
I encourage you to make a contribution to the Jewish Policy Center. As always, you can use our secure site: https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/contribute.php
Sincerely,
Matthew Brooks,
Executive Director
