US and the Middle East Conference

The role played by the US in the Middle East has long been a topic of heated discussion among intellectuals, politicians and journalists in the region. But although numerous conferences on US-Middle Eastern relations have been held across the Arab world, there has tended to be an under-representation of Americans representing the influential neoconservative (some prefer the label “Reaganite”) perspective. This conference was organized with the intention of creating dialogue between Arab and American analysts from across the political spectrum, with particular attention to ensuring the representation of neoconservative views. The key theme that emerged from the various discussions was that of the exceptionalism, or lack thereof, of the Bush administration’s approach to the Middle East, which is addressed in the first part of this report. The second part of this report deals specifically with the current regional issues discussed during the conference: Anti-Americanism in the region; the prospects for Iraq; the changing regional role of Iran; and finally, democratization.