| Contents |
Background. The United States and the Persian Gulf : 1941-present / Salim Yaqub -- Assessing current U.S. policies and goals in the Persian Gulf / Daniel Byman -- Key questions. -- The economic costs of Persian Gulf oil supply disruptions / Kenneth R. Vincent -- Saudi Arabian oil and U.S. interests / Thomas W. Lippman -- After America : the flow of Persian Gulf oil in the absence of the U.S. military force / Joshua Rovner -- U.S. spending on its military commitments to the Persian Gulf / Eugene Gholz -- Resilience by other means : the potential benefits of alternative government investments in U.S. energy security / John Duffield -- Conclusions and policy options. Should the United States stay in the Gulf? / Charles L. Glaser and Rosemary A. Kelanic -- The future of U.S. force posture in the Gulf : the case for a residual forward presence / Caitlin Talmadge. |
| Abstract |
The United States has long-defined the free flow of Persian Gulf oil as a key component of its grand strategy. Since the late 1970s, U.S. military force has increasingly become the instrument for achieving this end. The American objective of ensuring the flow of Persian Gulf oil, by force if necessary, has rarely been questioned by scholars or policymakers since the Gulf became the site of U.S. military deployments. It is time to reexamine the U.S. military commitment to keeping Gulf oil flowing. Quite dramatic changes have occurred in world oil markets, the regional balance of power, and the limits of US defense budgets. This opens up the possibility that the United States should significantly revise its policy toward the Persian Gulf--both in terms of how it defines its strategic interests in the region, and the means it uses to pursue them. This volume brings together scholars of international relations and US foreign policy to examine the history and effects of the US presence in the Gulf and to weigh the costs and benefits of either keeping US forces in the region or pulling back. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| LCCN | 2015040461 |
| ISBN | 9781626163348 (hc : alk. paper) |
| ISBN | 1626163340 |
| ISBN | 9781626163355 (pb : alk. paper) |
| ISBN | 1626163359 |
| ISBN | (eb) |
