Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 07/2014

The New Middle East

Marina Ottaway, Nathan J. Brown, Amr Hamzawy, Karim Sadjadpour, Paul Salem

February 2008

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Abstract

Confrontational U.S. policy that tried to create a “New Middle East,” but ignored the realities of the region has instead exacerbated existing conflicts and created new problems. To restore its credibility and promote positive transformation, the United States needs to abandon the illusion that it can reshape the region to suit its interests.