The fifth edition of the acclaimed The Middle East and the United States brings together scholars and diplomats from the Middle East, Europe, and North America to provide an objective, cross-cultural assessment of U.S. policy toward the Middle East. This new edition has been substantially revised and updated into the Obama administration to explore such topics as: the 2003 Iraq War and why the U.S. decided to invade; Islamist perceptions of U.S. involvement in the Middle East; and the relationships between the U.S. and Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Afghanistan. The Middle East and the United States also features five entirely new chapters discussing 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 US-Iranian relations under the last three administrations; and U.S. relations with Al Qaeda. A reorganization of the contributions in the fifth edition also places greater emphasis on current events. -- Back cover.