Where Eagles Fly: An Assessment of the Future of the US in the Middle East

The Middle East has always become strategically important for the US foreign policy makers. Since 1970s the US has involved in the region as an active player in the politics and security of the Middle East. Among scholars and analysts there  is a tendency to explain the US involvement in the region with the natural resource wealth of the region. However, the recent developments show that the US is struggling with playing global power in the region and fell short of keeping its commitments externally and internally. Its problematic existence in Iraq and Afghanistan, the rise of strong regional powers like Turkey and Iran and the Russian factor contribute in the gradual decline of the US as the major power in the region. Within this context the objectives of this paper are: To critically assess to what extent the US policies in the Middle East have become successful to change its negative image remaining from the Bush’s Administration so far. To discuss different scenarios for the future of the US in the region so as to understand how sustainable the Obama Administration’s current Middle East strategy will be. To evaluate different options for the current American involvement in the region Overall, this panel will assess the current Obama Administration''s policies and strategies towards the Middle East from the perspective of the region by comparing them with those of the George W. Bush’s Administration.