The Road Ahead: Middle East Policy in the Bush Administration’s Second Term

As the Bush administration embarks on its second term, Middle East policy remains at the top of its foreign policy agenda. Whereas his first term was marked by the war on terror and the war in Iraq, President Bush—barely two years after launching the Iraq war—is adding the challenges of promoting democracy, non-proliferation, and Israeli-Palestinian peace to an already complicated agenda.

To address these challenges, the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution commissioned its experts to write a series of policy planning papers that critique the Bush Administration’s first term performance and delineate alternative approaches for its second term. The Road Ahead: Middle East Policy in the Bush Administration’s Second Term is the product of this effort. Edited by Flynt Leverett, the papers cover the full spectrum of challenges confronting President Bush in his second term: from fighting Binladenism to promoting Arab reform, from achieving Middle East peace to saving Iraq, and from tackling Iran to engaging Syria and Saudi Arabia.

At this policy briefing, the Saban Center’s experts presented their ideas and critiques of the Bush Administration’s Middle East policies.