The Study On The Obama Administration's Offshore Balancing Strategy For The Middle East

The Obama administration took office at a time when the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq started by the George W.Bush administration in the Middle East were not over,and the United States also suffered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930 s.In the context of “two wars and one crisis”,the Obama administration has dramatically reduced or even directionally adjusted the Bush administration's Middle East strategy while maintaining the hegemonic goal of the United States in the Middle East.The Obama administration's offshore balancing strategy for the Middle East was formed by trying to maintain the existing strategic objectives with less strategic investment.The offshore balancing strategy advocates that the United States,as an offshore balancer,should reduce its investment in offshore areas and rely more on local allies to assume responsibility for containing the rising powers.Only when allies fail to effectively contain the threat will the United States intervene personally to maintain the balance of power in offshore areas.Its core objective can be summarized as "less is more",that is,offshore balancers invest less resource in offshore areas,but get better benefits,which is more conducive to maintaining their power and interests in offshore areas.In order to study the Obama administration's Middle East offshore balancing strategy,this dissertation improves the original theory and constructs a new analysis framework which includes four elements: subjective motivation,objective conditions,main means,main advantages and limitations.With this as a clue to interpret,analyze and evaluate the Obama administration's Middle East strategy more rationally and deeply.Through systematic and in-depth analysis,the Obama administration's Middle East offshore balancing strategy mainly shows three characteristics.Firstly,the Obama administration pursues at least five offshore balancing goals in the Middle East.The first is to maintain the balance of power in the Middle East and prevent the emergence of regional powers in this area;the second is to reduce the investment of resources in the Middle East and invest the saved resources in domestic construction and the Asia-Pacific region;The third is to transfer the security responsibility in the Middle East to America's allies and reduce its security commitment in the region;The fourth is to avoid getting involved in the Middle East conflicts,emphasizing to intervene in the Middle East conflicts through diplomatic means rather than military means;The fifth is to ease America's relations with Islam and the Arab world,and reduce anti-Americanism in the Middle East.Secondly,the Obama administration has the objective conditions to implement the offshore balancing strategy in the Middle East.Geographically,the United States is separated from the Middle East by huge waters,and the United States is the only hegemonic power in the Western Hemisphere and has the power to implement offshore balancing strategy in the remote Middle East.In terms of enemy-friend relations,the United States faces potential threats in the Middle East,such as Russia,Iran and Syria,and maintains reliable allies in the region,such as Saudi Arabia and Israel.In the International configuration,the unbalanced multipolar structure also makes it easier for the United States to adopt an offshore balancing strategy.Finally,the Obama administration has taken three major measures to promote the offshore balance strategy in the Middle East.The first is to reduce investment.This means withdrawing troops from Iraq and Afghanistan,“leading from behind” in the Libyan crisis,not using force in the Syrian crisis,adopting flexible strike means against terrorist organizations,and avoiding sending ground combat troops.The second is buck pass,which is mainly manifested in three aspects: 1.To ease the tense diplomatic relations with potential threats such as Russia,Iran and Syria,and even keep a certain distance from its ally Israel,so as to avoid the escalation of confrontation that may lead the United States into or be forced into conflict or war;2.Moderately increase the power of Saudi Arabia and Israel and strengthen the power of allies to confront potential threats;3.Fighting against Iran through Saudi Arabia and Israel,preventing Iran from strengthening its strength through the Syrian civil war and forming an " Shiite Crescent Arc";The third is to establish balance of power,that is,to warn Iran about its pursuit of nuclear weapons and the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime in Syria through diplomatic channels,and even to draw a “red line” in an attempt to achieve the purpose of strategic deterrence;at the same time,Saudi Arabia and Israel were united to build an alliance to contain Russia,Iran and Syria,forming the “external balance”,which includes U.S.-Russia game,Saudi Arabia-Iran confrontation and Israel and Syria taking sides;In addition,the United States continued to enhance its deterrence capability and ensure its rapid victory in military intervention in the Middle East,and establish “internal balance” by maintaining absolute military superiority and strong military projection capability in favor of military intervention through maintaining a large defense budget.In general,although the Obama administration's Middle East offshore balance strategy has limitations,it has achieved certain results.In terms of its effectiveness,the first is the signing of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(JCPOA),which achieves the goal of preventing nuclear proliferation;The second is not involved in the new Middle East conflict;The third is that positive progress has been made in counter-terrorism,which not only killed the number one terrorist,bin Laden,but also severely hit the “Islamic State”.Fourthly,to a certain extent,the strategic focus has shifted from the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific.But the limitations of this strategy are also obvious.On the one hand,the power of the strategic opponent of the United States has risen,Russia has been able to return to the Middle East,Iran has risen further,and the Syrian Assad regime has been preserved.On the other hand,the relationship between the United States and its Middle East ally,such as Saudi Arabia and Israel,has regressed and even fell into the bottom of history.In particular,the Obama administration's attempts to improve the relationship between the United States and the Islamic world failed to achieve the desired goals.In addition,it should be noted that the general principles of the Obama administration's Middle East offshore balancing strategy are still maintained in the current trump administration.Offshore balancing is still the logic and window to understand the current U.S.strategy in the Middle East.For China,the Obama administration's Middle East offshore balancing strategy can provide a deeper understanding of the U.S.Middle East policy development trend and help the Chinese government formulate a Middle East policy that is more conducive to itself.