The "Strategy of Freedom" in the Middle East
The Rhetoric and Reality of US Policy
SWP Comment 2004/C 02, 15.01.2004, 8 Pages Research AreasThe Rhetoric and Reality of US Policy
SWP Comment 2004/C 02, 15.01.2004, 8 Pages Research AreasIn two policy speeches made in November 2003, President Bush reaffirmed and ex-plained his commitment to promoting democracy in the Middle East as a central goal of US foreign policy. Like no president before him, he has called for overcoming the failed, decades-old policy that has been primarily directed towards ensuring the stability of friendly autocratic states. The Bush administration considers a "forward strategy of freedom" in the Middle East a central element of the war on terrorism. What does this policy really look like? What assumptions is it based on? What are the problems associated with it?