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Boston University

War for the Greater Middle East

Boston University via edX

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Overview

Over thirty years ago, confident in the superiority of American military power, the United States set out to "fix" the Greater Middle East. Since that time, U.S. troops, covert operatives and proxies have engaged in costly exertions in predominantly Muslim societies everywhere from the Levant and the Persian Gulf to East Africa and Central Asia. With what result? Washington's efforts have exacted a terrible toll, squandering vast amounts of blood and treasure. In the meantime, the Islamic world has become less stable while anti-American radicalism flourishes. America’s War for the Greater Middle East has failed, and that failure is irreversible.

This course offers a history of that war, for better understanding of the factors that inspired the United States to launch the conflict and to persist in a doomed enterprise. Inviting you to learn how the war unfolded from one phase to the next, from the era of Jimmy Carter to the age of Barack Obama, it catalogs the errors of judgment and implementation made along the way. Finally, it encourages you to consider alternative approaches to policy that might have better served the interests of the United States and of the people living in countries invaded, occupied, bombed and otherwise subjected to American punishment.  

Taught by

Andrew Bacevich

Reviews

4.3 rating, based on 6 Class Central reviews

Start your review of War for the Greater Middle East

  • I would thank Prof. Bacevich and his staff for their courage to say in a straight way their opinions about these delicate and important issues, even if some of these can be very unpopular and not considered not 'politically correct' in their country.
    It's a very recommended course for understanding better an actual crucial conflict in our world.
  • Profile image for Sivananda Ramnath
    Sivananda Ramnath
    Very superficial treatment and a lot of selection bias. Far less rigorous than other edx courses. I think GUIX-501-01x offers a better understanding of many of the topics that this course covered.
  • Régis
    The video material is great: very informative, more fun to watch than a TV series. The quizz are easy, so sompleting the course does not require a lot of work -- although there is plenty of supplementary material to consult if one desires.
  • Profile image for Michael Ye
    Michael Ye
  • Valerio Nucera
  • David Shackelford

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