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Dr. Pollack began the discussion by describing his intentions for the book: to make Middle East issues more accessible to the average reader. He also wished to explain the over-arching goals of US policy in the Middle East and the long-term strategy needed to pursue those goals. He admitted that the book’s scope is broad but that it includes a number of principles that should guide US foreign policy in the Middle East over a 40 or 50 year period. He noted that the debate over the Middle East was too often superficial and misinformed and that it was his hope that the book would endow readers with a stronger grasp of the complex political, social, and cultural environment within which US foreign policy operates.

Pollack then identified a major flaw in US foreign policy toward the Middle East. According to him, the US has continually compartmentalized issues, devising solutions that address a limited range of problems without regard to other policies already in place. The result is a mixture of policies that work at cross-purposes when they should work harmoniously toward an over-arching strategy. This view, said Pollack, is lacking in current US approaches to the region.

To remedy this shortcoming, Pollack proposed reorienting US policy toward a grand strategy that addresses the underlying social, economic, and political problems in the Middle East. He maintained that the only way to devise successful policy in the region is to address the root causes of animosity toward the US.

Pollack went on to describe the “big issues” facing the US in the Middle East. He began by asserting that terrorism is not the problem; it is a symptom. The real problem is the underlying social and political dysfunction that plagues nearly every Middle Eastern state. He argued that the real threat emanating from this dysfunction is not terror, but widespread instability. Widespread discontent has given rise to widespread desperation. When change does not come about peacefully, people become willing to use violence. Terror, said Pollack, is the expression of this desperation for change. Terrorist groups in this understanding are revolutionary movements that seek to overthrow the government. Thus, the US should strive to eliminate the threat of revolution if it wishes to maintain its long-term interests in the region.

Pollack asked: How do you prevent a revolution? The answer: Embark on a program of comprehensive social and economic reform. This is the strategy he proposed that the US adopt. He asserted that it is a long-term strategy that will require constant re-coordination over the coming years. He advised that the US avoid quick-fix policy solutions for the periodic crises that emerge in the region and that all policies should, at the very least, do no harm to the United States’ long-term strategic goals in the Middle East.

Pollack then named three guiding principles for a grand strategy in the region. First, the US must exercise patience. Pollack envisioned a long-term, gradual transformation based on lessons learned from European, Latin American, and East Asian reconstruction. Mistakes will be made, but the US needs time to recognize, evaluate, and remedy them. He cited hasty elections in Palestine and Iraq as evidence that speedy solutions often lead to policy disasters.

Second, the US should base the strategy on a from-the-ground-up, grassroots model. It is necessary that the people of the Middle East see the change that they desire. Pollack noted that under the Marshall Plan, the US never told the Europeans what their society should look like. Instead, the US enabled progress and development by providing the necessary resources and support. He emphasized the importance of following this approach in the Middle East.

Finally, Pollack recommended that the US stop seeing Middle Eastern regimes as adversaries but as partners. The problem, he said, is that the regimes are simply too strong; unless the US intends to invade more countries, the only way to bring about change is to engage them. He insisted that this was a viable strategy, as the US and the rulers of the Middle East have a shared interest in preventing revolutions and instability.

Pollack concluded by reiterating the need for a long-term grand strategy in the Middle East that address the root causes of violence, instability, and animosity toward the US. The solution lies in reshaping the political, social, and economic structure of the region to alleviate the anger and discontent that threaten US vital interests. Using an approach that is gradual, non-obtrusive, and non-confrontational, Pollack’s grand strategy calls for cooperation and coordination and shuns isolation and confrontation.