This past week the attention in the U.S. has been on President Obama and his State of the Union Address. When the president addressed the nation, little was said regarding the situation in the Middle East. Currently demonstrations have taken place in Tunisia, which led to the toppling of that countries government.Lebanon, a U.S. ally, witnessed the collapse of its government over tensions resulting from a Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which was to indict elements of Hezbollah for the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
Egypt, another U.S. ally in the region, is facing demonstrations against long time leader Hosni Murbarak, who has been the leader of that country since 1981.
This places the president in a unique situation, as he has said very little about the situation in the Middle East. Since coming into office the president has repudiated the Middle East policy of the Bush administration, especially as it relates to the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Unfortunately, his own initiative to jump start the peace process has failed and only made the situation worse.
The president's naive approach to the Middle East was not grounded in reality, as he failed to understand the complex nature of the region.
http://militarybriefingbook.com/topic.cfm?topic=Middle%20East
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