CIAO DATE: 12/2008
November 2008
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
The next U.S. president will be a wartime president. Developments in the Middle East almost ensure that either John McCain or Barack Obama will have to manage one or more wars involving the United States or its allies in the region.
The challenges posed by the Middle East are legion: "fragile and reversible" security in Iraq; military fallout from a possible Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear program; the destabilizing consequences of a nuclear breakout by the Islamic Republic; a new round of violence between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) -- this time in the West Bank; an Israeli military intervention in Gaza to halt renewed rocket attacks, preempt a Hamas military buildup, or crush the nascent Hamas government there; and the possibility of a second Hizballah-Israeli war. Given these realities, the United States must engage the region to an unprecedented extent in order to avert or deter those wars that are avoidable, and prevail (or ensure the success of its allies) in those that prove inescapable.
Resource link: PolicyWatch #1420: Why the Next U.S. President Will Be a Wartime Leader [PDF] - 15K