This policy-relevant study of US Foreign policy, written in the light of September 11, examines US actions since the 1970s in the critical geographical arena of the Middle East. It argues that the more that the US has militarized the region, the less secure have the American people become. The US faces a stark contrast: to continue imposing a Pax Americana, or to promote real peace based on human rights, international law and sustainable development.

Table of Contents

* Introduction * 1. The Persian Gulf * 2. The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict * 3. The U.S. Role in Suppressing Human Rights * 4. The Militarization of the Middle East * 5. Extremist Islamic Movements And The Threat Of Terrorism * 6. Towards A New Middle East Policy

Author Biography

This policy-relevant study of US foreign policy, written in the light of September 11, examines US actions over the past few decades in the critical geographical arena of the Middle East. It argues that the more that the US has militarized the region, the less secure have the American people become. The US faces a stark contrast: to continue imposing a Pax Americana, or to promote real peace based on human rights, international law and sustainable development. STEPHEN ZUNES is an associate professor of politics at the University of San Francisco, and a senior policy analyst for the Foreign Policy in Focus Project and research associate at the University of California--Santa Cruz. He is principal editor of Nonviolent Social Movements: A Geographical Perspective (Blackwell, 1999) and author of Western Sahara: Nationalism and Conflict in Northwest Africa (Syracuse University Press, 2002).