This acclaimed book brings together scholars and diplomats from the Middle East, Europe, and North America to provide an objective, cross-cultural assessment of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. This fifth edition has been substantially revised with greater emphasis on current events, including the policies of the Obama administration, Islamist perceptions of U.S. involvement in the Middle East, and the U.S. relationship with Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Afghanistan. Updated throughout, this edition also features five new chapters on the superpowers and the Middle East throughout the Cold War; the Bush and Obama administrations and the Arab – Israeli conflict; contemporary U.S. – Syrian relations; the importance of ideology to U.S. – Iranian relations under the last three administrations; and U.S. relations with Al Qaeda.