Realigning America’s Relations in the Middle East
Event
On Monday, June 14th, New America Foundation hosted an event featuring Stephen Kinzer on Realigning America’s Relations in the Middle East. Flynt Leverett, director of the Iran Project of New America Foundation and publisher of The Race for Iran, moderated the event.
Kinzer discussed the outline of his new book, Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America’s Future. He began with the claim that Iran and Turkey are the only two countries in the Middle East that understand and want democracy. He claimed that there are two preconditions for democracy: that it takes time, usually decades or generations, and that the decision has to be made by the people, rather than forced upon them by some intruding power. He used the example of the Iranian demonstrations after the 2009 elections: the Iranians knew what they wanted and then chose to protest the elections. Kinzer then transitioned into a discussion about U.S. policy in the Middle East and how it now appears to be outdated. U.S. policy falls in line with the interests of Saudi Arabia and Israel. The reason for this, Kinzer explained, is that during the Cold War, Saudi Arabia and Israel aided the U.S. in dealing with countries that it could not, such as Guatemala, Nicaragua, and the Apartheid. Politics today are very different from the Cold War era, but Kinzer argued that the U.S. has not changed its policy accordingly. He believes that Iran has the best ability to stabilize Iraq. He also sees Turkey as a country with a lot of diplomatic influence in the region. According to Kinzer, Iran, Turkey, and the U.S. would be a logical power triangle for influence in the region. The U.S., therefore, needs to look more at the long-term effects of its policy choices.
Participants
featured speaker
Stephen Kinzer
Author, Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America’s Future
Author, All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror
moderator
Flynt Leverett
Director, Iran Project
New America Foundation
Publisher, The Race for Iran