Great Unraveling: The Remaking of the Middle East

Looking beneath the surface of strategy, policy, and daily operations, this book uses the analogy of weaving to review the United States' historical responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. Author Charles Hill shows why the United States must marshal all possible elements in the Middle East, and supporters from without, to defeat the enemies of order in the region-and why the U.S. must weave an actively engaged, omnidirectional involvement to support and interact with whatever faction, regime, sect, leader, or state that seeks to gain legitimacy as a good citizen in the established international system.

Explaining how the U.S. withdrawal from the Middle East could have long-term consequences as other forces come forward to fill the gap, Russell A. Berman details how the retreat began and how the reduction of the U.S. commitment has, in turn, set off a wave of repercussions. He analyzes what motivates such a retreat, how much it is a choice of the Obama administration, and how much it is rooted in U.S. cultural leanings that could outlast the administration. In Retreat warns not only about changing evaluations about this specific corner of the globe but also about predispositions to retreat from politics altogether, from the burden of leadership, and from the advocacy for democracy.

Offering insights on Egypt's failed revolution-how it happened and why it did not succeed-author Samuel Tadros argues that, as Egypt continues on its destructive downward path, it is important to examine the role that its revolutionaries played in that trajectory. He raises long-unanswered questions about those revolutionaries: Who were they and where did they come from? What was their ideological and organizational composition? Why were they angry with the Mubarak regime? What were their demands and aspirations for a new Egypt? And how did they attempt to achieve them?

In this book, Itamar Rabinovich examines how Israel is facing a new and changing regional order in the Middle East, from the ramifications of the Arab Spring to a receding U.S. role and beyond. The author looks specifically at Israel's evolving relationships with Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, and the Palestinians. He asserts that, although some new developments pose threats to Israel's national security and diplomatic position, Israel could take advantage of some of those changes to become a more active and a better-integrated player in the region's politics. For this to happen, he concludes, Israel should take advantage of the massive effort invested by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to bring about an Israeli-Palestinian final status agreement.

In The Consequences of Syria, Lee Smith analyzes the current U.S. administration's stance on Syria, questioning whether it will build the foundations of a new Middle East or usher in an era of instability that will affect the entire world. The author contends that the many apparent shifts in the administration's Syria policy were part of a messaging campaign intended to camouflage President Obama's determination to stay out of the Syrian conflict. Smith concludes that the next White House will have to deal with a region that contains more violence, betrayed allies, emboldened adversaries, and an Iran almost on the verge of a nuclear breakout that will further destabilize a vital strategic region.

In this book, Fouad Ajami analyzes the struggle for influence along the Fertile Crescent-the stretch of land that runs from Iran's border with Iraq to the Mediterranean-among three of the regional powers who have stepped into the vacuum left by the West: Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. He explains that, of the three powers competing for influence, Saudi Arabia and Iran are in it for the long haul. Each of those powers has a sense of mission and constituencies that enable them to stick it out and pay the price for a sphere of influence. Each country's prospects for supremacy is detailed and Ajami asserts that Iran must ultimately be reckoned to be the strongest.