188826 Middle Eastern Wars and Humanitarian Catastrophes: The Role of US Middle East Policy in Recent History

Wednesday, October 29, 2008: 1:30 PM

Michael Provence, PhD , Department of History, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
     
American critics of the Iraq war since 2003 and of Bush foreign policy generally, often posit the past eight years as a sharp break with past US policy. This view comforts, as it implies a possibility of a return to a peaceful and more tranquil past. The reality is somewhat different, and from the perspective of the Middle Eastern region, it is more sensible to see the past eight years as the apogee of a continuum of US efforts in the region. This paper will trace some of these past, mostly forgotten, adventures and argue that the notion of a "return to a simpler times" ignores both the past and the present of US involvement in mass violence and suffering in the Middle East.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this presentation participants will: Recognize the relationship between historical and current U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East; and Describe past and the present of US involvement in mass violence and suffering in the Middle East.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an Associate professor specializes in Modern Middle Eastern history and have conducted the research that will be presented
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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