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We will strengthen America’s foreign policy impact as we work independently and with our partners to build a new stability in the Middle East and North Africa. Success in this endeavor is essential to U.S. global interests and is linked to other pressing challenges and opportunities for U.S. national security: preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon remains a top priority; terrorist groups active in the region continue to seek the capability to attack our allies, interests, and homeland; the region’s strategic energy supplies are essential to support the global economy; and regional stability and Middle East peace efforts are vital for the security of Israel and our other friends in the region.
Recent events have again demonstrated the need to look beyond traditional security concerns and consider the full range of issues that affect and contribute to regional stability. A new regional stability will be built on the premise that increased democracy with respect for the rights of all citizens of a country, including minorities, will benefit both the region and the United States. Regional stability must be built on a foundation of responsive and accountable governance, inclusive economic growth, and rights-respecting and capable security institutions.
The crisis in Syria embodies these complex challenges. The Asad regime has violently defied the Syrian people’s demands for reform, and the regime’s brutality has destabilized the region through its partnership with Iran and the regime’s increasing reliance upon Hizballah. Neighboring states, including Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq, struggle to cope with vast refugee flows, spillover violence, and, in the case of Lebanon, serious threats to political stability.
Strategies for Achieving the Objective
The United States will build regional stability by working toward a comprehensive Middle East peace; forging strong partnerships to address regional threats; supporting economic growth and prosperity; and promoting democratic governance and political reforms, among other measures.
Working towards a comprehensive Middle East Peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and Israel and its neighbors:
The United States is committed to a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, central to which is a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We define comprehensive peace as peace between Israel and a future Palestinian state, as well as between Israel and its neighbors. With the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in July 2013, Middle East peace efforts now focus on the conclusion and full implementation of a final status agreement and the realization of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which promises normalization of relations between Israel and Arab League states in the context of a comprehensive peace. Should the efforts of the United States and the international community succeed in a two-state resolution to the conflict, U.S. assistance will remain critical in building Palestinian governance capacity and implementing an agreement. Comprehensive peace also will require Israel and a Palestinian state to normalize political and economic relations with the region.
The United States is building strong partnerships to address regional security threats. The United States will work with international partners to ensure that Syrian chemical weapons are removed and eliminated and that Syria complies with the Chemical Weapons Convention, UN Security Council resolutions, and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons requirements. We will continue to deliver humanitarian assistance to affected communities inside Syria and in neighboring countries, and to work to achieve a negotiated political solution that ends the violence in Syria and begins a political transition. The United States will continue our unwavering commitment to Israel's security.
Egypt continues to face economic and political instability, while Jordan struggles to handle an influx of refugees from Syria even as it simultaneously addresses dire economic challenges, including an energy crisis.
Build strong partnerships to address regional security threats:
U.S. strategic partnerships, globally and within the region, enhance our security efforts on counterterrorism and nonproliferation. We will continue to work with the P5+1 (the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China, facilitated by the European Union), the broader international community, and international organizations like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure that Iran complies with its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), and relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Building upon the work at the NATO Summit in Wales, Jeddah Conference, and U.N. General Assembly meetings in September 2014, we will continue to strengthen the global coalition formed to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) through humanitarian and security assistance to partner countries in the region threatened by ISIL. This also includes coordinating broad efforts to counter terrorist financing the flow of foreign fighters within and through the region.
The United States seeks to achieve a comprehensive agreement that fully resolves the international community’s concerns with Iran’s nuclear program. Syria’s accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention was a major accomplishment. In cooperation with like-minded international partners, we have dismantled one of the largest remaining chemical weapons arsenals in the world and eliminated those weapons as a strategic threat to Israel. We will continue to work to achieve a negotiated solution that ends the violence in Syria and begins a political transition.
In addition, U.S. security cooperation and assistance to our partners will cover all aspects of counterterrorism, including legal frameworks and rights-respecting security approaches. We will undertake efforts to prevent and mitigate extremism, sectarian conflicts, and mass atrocities; and we will counter Iran's destabilizing activities in the region. We will also emphasize our work with states undergoing democratic transitions to assist them in establishing the capacity to provide a stable and rights-respecting domestic security environment.
The Syrian regime could resist a negotiated settlement to its current situation. Terrorist organizations may take advantage of regional instability, fragile security environments in transition countries, and ongoing conflicts to launch attacks. Governments backsliding on democratic transitions could further endanger long-term regional stability. We must continue to undermine the violent extremist narrative by encouraging states to establish democratic and accountable institutions thereby supporting our needs to advance our broader regional security priorities.
Promote economic growth, job creation, open markets, and energy security:
The United States will address economic marginalization through the promotion of economic growth, job creation, open markets, and energy security. Economic growth and inclusive prosperity fueled by private sector development, increased investment, and inclusive employment are fundamental to regional stability and to counter the terrorist narrative. The free flow of energy resources to the global economy is critical to promoting economic prosperity. Sound regulatory, economic, education, and health policies are needed for enduring private sector expansion and stable employment. Achieving these goals requires coordination with partners to design and implement reforms. We will need to partner with governments and the private sector in the region as they develop economic incentives, protect critical infrastructure, and achieve local backing for reforms. We will support implementation of projects that increase access to finance for small and medium enterprises. We will encourage sound fiscal and economic policies and improved regulation to attract private investment and spur growth. We also will support development of improved regulatory and rules-based markets to attract foreign investors to the region, including U.S. businesses.
Setbacks to the global economic recovery, particularly in European markets, could have negative effects in the region. Regional conflicts, security deterioration, and increased acts of terrorism would deter investment, undermine growth, and threaten energy supplies. The influx of Syrian refugees into neighboring countries could have a crippling effect on the respective country’s financial stability. We will work to sustain the positive synergies and mutual reinforcement between security, democratic political reforms, and economic growth.
Promote improved, democratic governance, empowered and effective civil society, and respect for the rule of law and human rights:
The United States will continue to support democratic governance, civil society, and respect for the rule of law and human rights. Responsive, inclusive, and accountable governance serves as the strongest foundation for long-term regional stability. Governments and societies that are more inclusive, equitable, and representativeare better positioned to address challenges and to partner with the United States. We will, therefore, promote government institutions that are democratic, responsive to citizens, respect minority rights, and deliver public services transparently and equitably; legislatures that represent constituent interests; and expanded opportunities for meaningful political participation by all citizens. Many civil society groups in the region lack capacity. We will support the development of civil society that is effective, empowered, and able to interact constructively with government. And we will work to strengthen and improve legal systems and weak government institutions in the region, expand access to justice, promote greater respect for human rights, and empower women, minorities, and other marginalized groups.
Factors beyond the U.S. government's control may affect our efforts in the region. The Syrian regime could resist a negotiated settlement to the conflict. Terrorist organizations may take advantage of regional instability, fragile security environments in transition countries, and ongoing conflicts to launch attacks. Governments rejecting or backsliding on reform could further endanger long-term regional stability. Other factors that may affect our efforts include setbacks to the global economic recovery, particularly in European markets, that could have negative effects in the region. Regional conflicts, security deterioration, and increased acts of terrorism could deter investment, undermine growth, and threaten energy supplies. The influx of Syrian refugees into neighboring countries also places added financial costs and demands on the infrastructure in hosting communities, as well as on social services, such as education and health care.
Countries in the region face serious challenges, including stagnant growth and lack of economic opportunity; internal and cross-border conflicts and associated refugee flows; resource scarcity; religious and ethnic tension and discrimination; and a demographic youth bulge. We are convinced that responsive and accountable governments are more capable of addressing those challenges, and are committed to use our engagement, influence, and assistance to help address them.
