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While
the Middle East has been an important area in American
foreign policy at least since WWII, representing large
economic and political stakes for our country, it has
never been more central than in the current era. Yet
our policy has failed to set appropriate goals or launch
productive initiatives. The strategic petroleum resources
of the Middle East make it highly desirable for the
region to remain stable and for our relations with it
to be cordial, for instance. On the other hand, that
stability and cordiality has been threatened by American
military adventurism and, above all, its support for
Israel's policies vis-a-vis the Palestinians, which
has evolved into a key grievance throughout the entire
Muslim world,
Notwithstanding the complexity and importance of the
geopolitical issues involved, debate on Middle Eastern
issues has been conspicuously absent in Congress. There
are a number of reasons for this, not least the uninspired
journalism of the American media on those issues, and
the fact that the Middle East is often treated less
as a foreign policy question than as part of internal
electoral politics. This has not proven to be the optimum
condition for the national interest or for achieving
the human rights standards and democratic ideals that
are a traditional part of American political culture.
The aim of the American Council on Middle Eastern Policy
is to provide legislators and others involved in policy
formulation with information and critical analyses that
are not readily available in the mass media, and to
provide viewpoints that are not readily heard, but that
promote both the national interest and American commitments
to international human rights standards.
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