UNITED STATES’ STRATEGY IN TACKLING THREATS TO ITS NATIONAL INTERESTS IN THE PERSIAN GULF
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Background of Study
The Persian Gulf is located in Southwest Asia. It’s an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. This body of water is also controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf. The Persian Gulf coastal areas are the world’s largest single source of crude oil, and related industries dominate the region provide approximate 30% of the world export of crude oil and most of the oil and product are transported by sea through ports on the Gulf and strait of Hormuz. This is the reason why this seaway has gained such great importance. The beginning of World War II marks America's first political commitments in the Persian Gulf. Those commitments led to greater involvement and interdependence between the United States and the Persian Gulf states. It has been stated that America considers itself the "Guardian of the Gulf," a role that has been assumed through deliberate policy doctrines, covert actions, and diplomatic/military reaction to crises (Palmer, 1992). The first official US policy commitment in the Middle East came with the Truman Doctrine, which was announced on March 12, 1947. The primary reason of the Truman Doctrine was containment of the Soviet Union. The United States was standing firm refusing to allow Iran, Turkey, or Greece to fall under Soviet influence. Any Soviet expansion in these areas would be at the risk of armed confrontation with America. This declaration was unprecedented in US history. For the first time the United States stated in peacetime that it would go to war in defense of countries outside the Western Hemisphere. With the Truman Doctrine began the gradual US role as defender of the region. With the growing Western dependence on oil and Soviet threats to the region the US Joint Chiefs of Staff" saw the balance of power in both Europe and the Near East as mutually reinforcing" (Kuniholm, 1987). 10 Since the United States assumed primary responsibility for protecting Western interests in the Gulf in the 1950s, its essential objective has been to ensure the free flow of oil at reasonable prices from this region to fuel the economies of Europe, Japan and the United States. America’s interest in the Persian Gulf is because of the economic viability of the area. About 30 percent of the world’s production and two-thirds of the world’s oil reserves are located in the Gulf. Not only is oil very abundant in this area, but it is accessible and of high quality (Mraz and McCallen (1996). America’ interest in the Persian Gulf was explained in President Clinton’s national security Strategy. He stated that: The United States has enduring interests in the Middle East, especially pursuing a comprehensive breakthrough to Middle East peace, assuring the security of Israel and our Arab friends, and maintaining the free flow of oil at reasonable prices. Our strategy is harnessed to the unique characteristics of the region and our vital interests there, as we work to extend the range of peace and stability (White House, 1995). America believed that any interruption of this flow of oil either through war, instability, or government production decisions has the potential to generate skyrocketing oil prices with profound I mplications for every Western economy. As long as those economies depend on oil, they will depend on the free flow of oil from the Gulf at reasonable prices; and the United States, as the leading world economy and the most powerful nation, has a responsibility to protect this vital interest. Ensuring the free flow of oil has also meant that the United States had to develop a security policy that would preserve the independence of the Gulf Arab oil producers, and also ensuring containing Ba’athist Iraq and Revolutionary Iran. These two countries are considered are considered the regional super powers.These two nations have a combined population exceeding 85 million people. Although neither presents a serious challenge to a 11 NATO type military, they do pose a very real threat to the surrounding Gulf States. This, in turn, has required the United States to develop strategies for balancing or containing the potential threats of these regional powers. This strategy became known as “Dual Containment”, introduced by President Clinton. In conjunction with this dual containment, the United States maintains longstanding presence which has been centered on naval vessels in and near the Persian Gulf (White House, 1995). The primary focus of this strategy is to "reduce the chances" tat any nation will threaten the sovereignty of any of the GCC states. Also, the strategy also focused on checkmating the rise of terrorism in the Middle East. Iraq and Iran have long supported terrorist operations against citizens and interests of the United States, its European allies, and moderate Middle East states. More recently, it became apparent that the Gulf Arab states around which U.S. strategy has been built, and whose security that strategy is designed to defend, offer some of the most fertile ground for funding and recruiting transnational terror organizations. They have also been the scene of some of these groups’ most devastating attacks, including bombings in Kuwait in the 1980s, Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, and Yemen in 2000. Since September 11, it has become evident that terrorist movements no longer affect the welfare of the American people only indirectly, by threatening America’s national interests abroad, but directly endanger the lives and safety of Americans at home, the protection of which is among the fundamental purposes of America’s constitutional government. Accordingly, the suppression of terrorism driven by an anti-modern backlash-a phenomenon springing in large measure from the areas bordering the Persian Gulf- is now be considered a vital national interest (McMillan, 2003).
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