US security posture in the Middle East: need for a change?

Abstract

The United States forward military presence in the Middle East has been on the rise for well over a decade. Recent polling data has indicated that favorable Arab public opinion of the United States and its foreign policy is in decline. This thesis explores the unfavorable opinions of the Arab world toward U.S. foreign policies, utilizing data from recent polls taken in several countries in the Middle East, and suggests a causal relationship between the development of unfavorable opinion in the Arab world with the growth of the U.S. forward military presence in the region. This research provides a breakdown of the growth of the U.S. military footprint in the Middle East over the last two decades. The research presented provides an overview of how U.S. foreign policy toward the Middle East has developed and argues the necessity of reform in the current U.S. strategic approach toward the Middle East.