US Standing in the Middle East

Ongoing use of force in the Middle East is weakening the United States. Sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein argues the country’s problems are structural and briefly outlines the history of US conflicts throughout the latter part of the 20th century. The unnecessary US invasion of Iraq in 2003 accelerated the country’s decline: “This was seen by the interventionists as a mode of restoring waning U.S. hegemony in the world-system. Instead, it badly backfired in two ways. The United States for the very first time lost a vote in the U.N. Security Council and Iraqi resistance to U.S. presence was vaster and more persistent than anticipated. In sum, the invasion transformed a slow decline into a precipitate decline.” The US persists with a hegemonic role rather than accept its limits, Wallerstein notes, even as the struggle divides US citizens, “torn between the glories of being the ‘leader’ and the costs of trying to be the leader.” Others plead for the United States to try more force, but the country loses credibility and trust. – YaleGlobal