HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031718.jpg
2.08 MB
Extraction Summary
2
People
2
Organizations
5
Locations
2
Events
0
Relationships
4
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Political essay / article draft / policy paper
File Size:
2.08 MB
Summary
This document appears to be a page from a political essay or article analyzing the failure of US foreign policy in the Middle East. It argues that the US strategy of 'nation building' followed by 'abandonment' of strongmen (specifically mentioning Mubarak and Gaddafi) created chaos. The text traces the roots of this instability back to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the artificial borders drawn by European powers (Sykes-Picot) that ignored tribal and religious customs.
Organizations (2)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Washington |
Referenced as the decision-maker for US foreign policy regarding abandoning leaders.
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| Ottoman Empire |
Cited for its historical role in neutralizing sectarian divisions within Islam.
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Timeline (2 events)
World War I
Historical marker for the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
Middle East
European colonial powers
Ottoman Empire
Locations (5)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Actor in foreign policy decisions.
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|
Subject of the geopolitical analysis.
|
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Location associated with Mubarak.
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Location associated with Gaddafi.
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Cultural/Geographical region discussed regarding tribal and religious identity.
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Key Quotes (4)
"So the democratization America encouraged was doomed from the start."Source
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Quote #1
"Supporting leaders when they kept the Middle East stable, then dumping them when they failed to adopt Western ideals, was a blueprint for disaster."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031718.jpg
Quote #2
"Many of those strongmen——from Mubarak in Egypt to Gaddafi in Libya——have fallen."Source
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Quote #3
"Modern Western notions of distinct nations bound together by geography, language, self-determination or political ideals been relevant in the Arab world. To Arabs, tribe and religion"Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031718.jpg
Quote #4
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (1,916 characters)
reforms in the name of “nation building.” Yet the newly-installed
regimes owed their existence to denying freedoms that would rally
dissidents to overthrow them. So the democratization America
encouraged was doomed from the start.
regimes owed their existence to denying freedoms that would rally
dissidents to overthrow them. So the democratization America
encouraged was doomed from the start.
Then came the “abandon.” Time and time again, when the
governments America had nurtured and praised faced resistance or
rebellion, Washington deserted their leaders, citing the popular excuse
that their repressive measures were enslaving their own people.
governments America had nurtured and praised faced resistance or
rebellion, Washington deserted their leaders, citing the popular excuse
that their repressive measures were enslaving their own people.
Supporting leaders when they kept the Middle East stable, then
dumping them when they failed to adopt Western ideals, was a
blueprint for disaster. And it’s disaster that ensued. Many of those
strongmen——from Mubarak in Egypt to Gaddafi in Libya——have
fallen. Once dominated by repressive but stable nation-states, vast
swaths of the Middle East are now borderless, a hodge-podge of
territories controlled by warring factions that’s a throwback to its
tribal past.
dumping them when they failed to adopt Western ideals, was a
blueprint for disaster. And it’s disaster that ensued. Many of those
strongmen——from Mubarak in Egypt to Gaddafi in Libya——have
fallen. Once dominated by repressive but stable nation-states, vast
swaths of the Middle East are now borderless, a hodge-podge of
territories controlled by warring factions that’s a throwback to its
tribal past.
The search for a solution to this chaos requires a clear understanding
of how we got here in the first place.
of how we got here in the first place.
For centuries, the Ottoman Empire had neutralized the historically
rooted sectarian divisions within Islam. Those divisions stem from its
ancient political legacy as a “caliphate,” a religious state with united by
military might, but with constantly shifting borders. Following the
Ottoman collapse after World War I, European colonial powers
assumed the role of regional administrator, and colluded to redraw
boundaries (i.e. Sykes-Picot) in the Middle-East to create nation states
that satisfied competing Western interests. Those newly-created
nations, occupying territories defined by legal borders, ignored Arab
history and tribal custom. Modern Western notions of distinct nations
bound together by geography, language, self-determination or political
ideals been relevant in the Arab world. To Arabs, tribe and religion
rooted sectarian divisions within Islam. Those divisions stem from its
ancient political legacy as a “caliphate,” a religious state with united by
military might, but with constantly shifting borders. Following the
Ottoman collapse after World War I, European colonial powers
assumed the role of regional administrator, and colluded to redraw
boundaries (i.e. Sykes-Picot) in the Middle-East to create nation states
that satisfied competing Western interests. Those newly-created
nations, occupying territories defined by legal borders, ignored Arab
history and tribal custom. Modern Western notions of distinct nations
bound together by geography, language, self-determination or political
ideals been relevant in the Arab world. To Arabs, tribe and religion
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_031718
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