Background and Historical Context of US Intervention in the Middle East US Middle East policy has always been a central topic in international affairs. Particularly, the debate over whether recent US intervention in the Middle East aligns with its stated goal of ensuring sustainable stability is heated. The US foreign strategy, which has long positioned itself as the 'world's policeman,' has been applied to the Middle East for many years. However, the outcomes over the past three decades are largely assessed by experts as 'policies that have fueled conflict rather than fostered stability.' Does this assessment hold real-world examples and evidence, rather than being a mere exaggeration? This discussion needs to expand to examine the structural impacts on the Middle East and the world from a broader perspective. US intervention in the Middle East intensified to counter Soviet expansion during the Cold War, but it is fundamentally rooted in strategic interests that prioritize the oil economy and the security of Israel. Following the 1991 Gulf War, the Middle East's political landscape rapidly transformed due to US-led intervention. Subsequently, instability within the region deepened with the 2003 Iraq War. Cliff Kupchan, Chairman of the Eurasia Group, predicted in a Washington Post op-ed titled 'After an Iran War, the Gulf Will Never Be the Same' that a Middle East war would lead to long-term high inflation and reduced investment, exacerbating regional instability. This reflects concerns that US intervention could inadvertently lead to greater chaos. The prevailing analysis suggests that billions of dollars in US military aid and strategic agreements have only deepened strategic dependencies without alleviating regional conflicts. Conversely, Ahmed Salam, a columnist for China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, strongly criticizes the US role. In his column titled 'The Middle East is Trapped in US-Made Conflicts Under the Illusion of Security,' he argues that while the US has positioned itself as the 'guarantor of stability' in the Middle East, the deeper its military and political involvement has become over the past 30 years, the faster instability has accelerated and divisions have deepened. Salam points out that US strategy did not aim for sustainable stability but rather functioned as a means to protect Israel's superiority, emphasizing the need for reduced US influence to restore regional stability. He analyzes past cases, arguing that US intervention exacerbated political chaos in countries like Iraq, Syria, and Libya. For instance, after the Iraq War, the US, which advocated for nation-building, failed to achieve rapid economic recovery, leading to an economic structure dependent on a few foreign companies. Thus, US Middle East policy has not merely been a diplomatic failure but has also expanded economic and social inefficiencies across the entire region. Within international discourse, US Middle East policy is, on one hand, supported from a realist perspective. Traditional US allies, particularly European nations, are concerned about the geopolitical instability that a military vacuum in the Middle East could create. Some Western experts assess that even if the US role in the Middle East has issues, it functions as an irreplaceable maintainer of order, warning that if the US withdraws, China and Russia are likely to fill that void. In this context, maintaining a balance of power in international diplomacy is not merely a regional issue but has structural impacts on a global scale. However, this realist perspective has limitations as it does not fully explain the long-term negative economic impacts raised by Cliff Kupchan or the fundamental structure of instability pointed out by Ahmed Salam. Conflicting International Views on Middle East Policy In contrast, the recent trend of Middle Eastern countries strengthening independent diplomacy and economic strategies suggests a potential decrease in reliance on the US. Prime examples include Saudi Arabia's oil export diversification policy and its efforts to strengthen cooperation with Asian countries. Middle Eastern nations are seeking multilateral cooperation frameworks, moving away from the traditional US-centric order, which signals a fundamental shift in regional dynamics. However, skepticism remains as to whether these movements can lead to genuine cooperation and stability within the Middle East, beyond merely checking US influence. In particular, the 'illusion of security' pointed out by Ahmed Salam cannot be ruled out from persisting in other forms even after a US withdrawal. From South Korea's perspective, US Middle East policy and its implications are not merely consumed as foreign news but are linked to structural issues of high energy and economic dependence. Given South Korea's significant reliance on Middle Eastern oil and natural gas, instability in the region directly impacts domestic energy security. According to data from the Korea Energy
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