The Absence of Grand Strategy

The Absence of Grand Strategy: The United States in the Persian Gulf, 1972-2005

By Steve Yetiv

“Overarching goal of the book is to look at how great powers behaved in distant lands.” (ix) The two general goals of the book are balance of power and the evolution of U.S. policy toward the Persian Gulf between 1972 and 2005. The key question explored is “To what extent did balance-of-power animate the thinking behind, and practice of, American foreign policy in the Persian Gulf region, as compared to other approaches?” (x)

The United States did not have a grand strategy rather they were slowly dragged into the region by their reaction to a series of events which caused an alteration to American policies. Grand strategy is defined as a set of approaches used by a major state to advance their interest and policies to achieve a national goal. The U.S. did not pursue a grand strategy because they had vital interest in the Persian Gulf which needed military protection which included preventing a single nation state from dominating the region and controlling the world’s oil reserves. (7)

Rather than serving as a balance of power in the Middle East the United States bolstered the strongest actor to create a greater imbalance of power. The United States was more likely to balance against prevailing threats than prevailing power in the region. The end of the Cold War, the rise of American global power caused a shift away from balancing. (6)

Foreign policy in the region has a direct impact on economic fortunes of all countries linked by global interdependence. (19)

America’s Gulf policy

1972-1979 Nixon’s twin pillar policy

            The U.S. promised the Shah of Iran access to U.S. weapons in exchange for protecting U.S. regional security interest (free flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz). (37)  Iran would balance Iraq at the regional level (which it failed to do) and Moscow at the global level, who were strengthening ties with Egypt. The treaty helped solidify the alignment of Moscow and Iraq. (32)

1982-1985 Regan’s tilt toward Iraq in the Iran-Iraq War

            Removed Iraq from the list of state sponsored terrorism, sent American arms to Iraq through Kuwait and Jordan. In response to the Iran hostage crisis the U.S. provided intelligence to Iraq to strengthen its position at Basra. (51)

1985-1986 Iran-Contra Affair

            Obtain the release of hostages in Lebanon captured between 1984 and 1985, and help Contras in Nicaragua with funds from arms sales to Iran to overthrow the communist leaning government. (54)

1986-1987 U.S. reflagging of Kuwaiti oil tankers

            Refflaging dispelled the belief that the United States did not want to end the war, weakened Iran’s naval advantage over Iraq, and undermined Iran’s ability to retaliate against Kuwait for their support of Iraq in the war. (62)

1988-1990 Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait

            Iraq invaded Kuwait which they argued was part of their territory. (77) Kuwait ignored oil producing quotas and kept prices low. Kuwait refused to forgive Iraq its war debt form the Iran-Iraq War and did not provide reconstruction credit to Iran. (78) The U.S. was forced to respond to the invasion of Kuwait which altered the existing policy of constructive engagement and changed American foreign policy in the region. (75)

Decline in the balance of power can be attributed to the fact that the end of the Cold War made it easier for the United States to adopt non-balancing strategies that would have been viewed as a threat to the Soviet Union. America’s rise on the global stage also made it easier to adopt more aggressive tactics toward the region. (147)

The United States had a reactive strategy to the events in the region. American foreign policy in the region was inconsistent, which was partly due to the fact that the United States has many goals in many different areas. (193) "Great powers start with grand ideas but end up with a high dose of reality." Decision makers are forced to react without much preparation to changing situations. (197)

*The book also discusses U.S. foreign policy during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush