CRS Issue Statement on the Middle East

Jeremy M. Sharp, Coordinator
Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs

Jim Zanotti
Analyst in Middle Eastern Affairs

Casey L. Addis
Analyst in Middle Eastern Affairs

Carol Migdalovitz
Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs

Kenneth Katzman
Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs

Christopher M. Blanchard
Analyst in Middle Eastern Affairs

Hussein D. Hassan
Information Research Specialist

The Policy Problem 
The Middle East, broadly defined as an area stretching from North Africa to the Persian Gulf, presents an array of challenges to U.S. foreign policy. Although the United States maintains strong relations with several key "moderate" Arab and non-Arab states such as Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Turkey, other state and non-state actors, such as Iran, the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas in the Palestinian territories, are aligned against U.S. interests. Hezbollah and Hamas are both U.S. State Department-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and have refused to renounce the use of violence against Israel. It is widely believed that Iran continues to seek a nuclear weapons capability, a goal that, if achieved, would have serious proliferation consequences throughout the region. Some observers fear that Israel could preemptively strike Iran and therefore trigger a wider war. Iran also continues its strong ties to Syria, complicating U.S. efforts to peel that Arab state away from its Persian ally. 

For decades, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has absorbed the energies of successive Administrations and Members of Congress alike. With renewed U.S. efforts to revive Israeli-Arab peacemaking now stalled, Congress may debate the extent of U.S. involvement in the latest peace process. U.S. Middle East policy has always required policymakers to delicately balance the need for a strong U.S. relationship with Israel with the need to secure vital oil resources in the Persian Gulf and support moderate Arab regimes.


Date of Report: January 14, 2010
Number of Pages: 4
Order Number: IS40348
Price: $7.95

You can order this item by phone at (301) 253-0881 or by email at Penny Hill Press, Inc.. Be sure to include the document number. Specify whether you want electronic delivery (pdf file or postal delivery).