American Foreign Policy from the Global War on Terrorism to Terror after the Arab Spring

American policy makers had barely come to terms with the uncertainty of the War on Terrorism as the Arab-Spring-turned-winter brought unprecedented changes to the Middle East and North Africa. In response, they had to adjust relationships with three regional blocks, including the Arab Sunni states, Iran, and Israel while orienting them to an unfamiliar strategic terrain. Although they remained susceptible to influences from domestic lobbying and public opinion pressures, regional shifts engendering “a third world war by other means” have proven preeminent for conceptualizing the pursuit of American hegemony. Global security rests on at least getting that right in order to properly address the grave hazard posed by failed states, weapons of mass destruction, and incompetent or illegitimate authority, all of which run rampant throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Stakes are highest for the hundreds of millions living there, whose wellbeing depends on international relations now more than ever. This article plans to grapple with how the War on Terrorism shaped instability in the Arab Spring and the outcome interacted with American policy. To do so, it asks: why did the US prioritize Iranian rapprochement while recalibrating traditional Arab-Israeli alliances? This question hopes to uncover developments that pushed and pulled past strategy and which will anchor future approaches to the region.