Friday, November 6, 2020

Five Middle East crises facing whoever wins the US elections

TURKISH PRESIDENT Tayyip Erdogan greets members of his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Parliament in Ankara, last week. (photo credit: MURAT CETINMUHURDAR/REUTERS)

The next US president, whether US President Donald Trump remains in office or Democratic challenger Joe Biden takes home a victory, will face several crises in the Middle East. These include dealing with the Iranian threat, the emerging extremism of Turkey, the failing leadership of the Palestinians, problems in Libya and the Eastern Mediterranean and an emerging disaster in the Sahel and the possible destabilization of Iraq.

The Middle East has been a challenge for US presidents going back 50 years. Many administrations come into power wanting to “do something” relating to the region, usually “solving” the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the past decades have shown that this conflict is not the central one in the region. Other problems, such as Islamist extremism, also appear to be reduced in the past years, as Islamic State was defeated. What is left is rising authoritarian regimes such as Turkey and the Iranian attempt to achieve hegemony over Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. READ MORE