US Foreign Policy The Gulf

1 Credit · Level: Undergraduate

This 7-week course focuses on the evolution of United States foreign policy in the Persian Gulf from the end of World War II to the present and why this region remains critically important to US national security interests. We will examine the issues and challenges that buffeted this region, among others – the Cold War, the geopolitics of oil and gas, the rise of Iran under the Mullahs, regional rivalries and challenges to the Gulf nation-states, and counterterrorism cooperation in the 21st century. The US presence in the Persian Gulf – diplomatically, militarily, and commercially – expanded exponentially in the wake of the Iranian revolution in 1979. Our naval presence increased with the decision in 1987 to re-flag Kuwaiti oil tankers under the American flag. And only two years after the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980’s, Saddam Hussain’s march into Kuwait prompted the United States to marshal an international coalition in 1990-1991 to liberate Kuwait and repel his forces near the border of Saudi Arabia. A decade later, a second war with Iraq led to another significant deployment of American military strength into the Gulf. With the rise of Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other groups that have attacked the United States, our allies in Europe and the Middle East, the US military footprint has expanded and our intelligence cooperation with the GCC countries has grown dramatically. The negotiations of the P5+1 with Iran during the Obama Administration resulted in the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear deal that is now being reconsidered by President Trump. The study of this period of history provides a foundation for understanding future US policy determinations in the Gulf.