I am a defense analyst, and cover the economics of Pentagon spending.
Jun 30, 2022,09:58am EDT
The Biden administration is portraying the president’s trip to the Middle East next month as a contribution to peace and stability in the region, but it is more likely to entangle the U.S. in future conflicts.
The effort to normalize relations between Arab states and Israel, as currently enshrined in the Trump administration-initiated Abraham Accords, ignores one major source of conflict in the region – Israel’s occupation of Palestine – while potentially accelerating another – a possible war with Iran. Adding Saudi Arabia to the mix, either formally or informally, will only accelerate this dynamic. As currently conceived, the Abraham Accords look more like an excuse to sell more weapons to the region and consolidate an anti-Iranian military bloc than a step towards an enduring peace in the Middle East.
A new element of the Biden Middle East policy that will be emphasized during his trip is a region wide air defense system – officially known as the Middle East Air Defense Alliance – that will include Israel and the Gulf States. But the creation of the air defense network is just one part of an initiative to increase U.S. military commitments to the region, most notably by offering stepped up security assurances to the UAE UAE +1.5% and Saudi Arabia. Warming up to these repressive, reckless regimes is not in U.S. interests, nor will it foster greater stability in the region.
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