McCain Outlines Strategic Objectives for the Middle East

Last week, following President Barack Obama‘s address on the Middle East, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) delivered the Dean Acheson Lecture at the United States Institute of Peace where he discussed the Arab Spring.  McCain opened by noting that the uprisings  in the Middle East represent a repudiation of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda and stated that Arab Spring should be “a clarifying event for the United States” which presents an opportunity to reshape the region.  He also noted that while many are skeptical of the U.S., given our support for the crumbling dictatorial regimes, they are also grateful for U.S. support and assistance during these moments of transition.   McCain continued by laying the United States’ objectives which included a peaceful change of dictatorial and anti-American regimes, especially the Iranian regime which stands in contrast to the goals of the Arab Spring.  He also called for the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose actions of demonstrated that he is not a reformer.  The senator stated that fears over who will succeed him are unjustified and went on to note the strategic impact of regime change in Syria given the government’s ties to Hezbollah, Hamas and Tehran.  He also called for more decisive action to remove Muammar Gadhafi from power and for the formal recognition of the Libyan Transitional National Council.

McCain stated that the second objective of U.S. policy should be to support and consolidate democratic transitions in Tunisia and Egypt through democratic and economic assistance with private sector support.  He also called for retaining military troops in Iraq to support the country’s democratic system and for “urging some of our most important security partners,” such as Bahrain, to “embrace evolutionary reforms as a means of stabilizing their countries.”   He pointed to Jordan, Morocco, Oman and Qatar as examples of countries which had begun on this path.  Finally, McCain called for greater steps towards resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as failure to do so may negatively effect the emerging democracies in the region.