Presidential Leadership Research Paper

Presidential Leadership First Name and Last Name Class Date Introduction The United States foreign policy offers guidelines on how the country relates with foreign states and develops the standards of interaction which guide citizens, corporations as well as US agencies. The U.S. foreign policy for the Middle East has often been developed and designed by the actions of the sitting presidents. The region has received different US policies as every administration has a different foreign policy approach that is prompted by what the administration views to be the best for the nation or the U.S. priorities at hand. The policies have sometimes had sudden unintended and positive outcomes that have drawn significant criticism and applause in equal measure. This paper will discuss foreign policy towards the Middle East by three US presidents who have drawn reactions locally and across the world. Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy all over the world was aimed at combating communism and encouraging democracy. However, the administration's plan was frustrated continuously by conflicts between the Congress, the state department, and the White House. The Congress and the executive regularly clashed over some issues on certification and assistance. Reagan Administration set the superpowers for the peaceful end of the cold war era. Reagan started outreach efforts to leaders in the Soviet Union and was successful as was demonstrated by the election of Mikhail Gorbachev's election as the Secretary General.[Kristol, William, and Robert Kagan. "Toward a neo-Reaganite foreign policy." Foreign Aff. 75 (1996): 18.] In the central region of the Middle East, the Reagan administration significantly deferred its operations to the State Department and its Foreign Service experts as it was preoccupied with its domestic affairs. The Department of State sustained discussion efforts that focused on implementing the Camp David Peace Accord. This role was made difficult by the October 1981 assassination of the Egyptian president Anwar al-Sadat and the invasion of Lebanon by Israel in 1982. The president’s special envoy conducted shuttle diplomacy to ensure that a ceasefire agreement was reached.[Dalacoura, Katerina. "U.S. democracy promotion in the Arab Middle East since 11 September 2001: a critique." International affairs 81, no. 5 (2005): 963-979.] Following the consequences of the Vietnam War, the 1970s presidents avoided using force in most situations. However, Reagan believed that there was a need for the US to recover from the war and redevelop as a global force. This belief resulted in the U.S. military action against some countries in the Middle East, specifically those that were aligned with the Soviet Union such as Lebanon. Reagan supported Israel forces in Lebanon and helped them in fighting Muslims in the country that were aligned with the communist Syria and the Soviet Union. Reagan was disappointed by the failure of the Israel army to defeat Lebanese Muslims and the administration deployed about 1,400 marines to the Middle East. However, his initial test of using force resulted in severe losses as the Lebanese Muslim forces used suicide bombers in 1983. The group known by the name Islamic Jihad used explosive devices in the marine...