The perennial American search for stability in the Middle East dates back to anti-Soviet objectives in the early Cold War when Washington treated the region as one piece of an international puzzle to contain Communism. Though the international threat from the Soviets is gone, the search for stability—specifically in the form of a collective security agreement like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)—remains highly attractive in the Middle East. NATO helped foster 70 years of economic growth and political cooperation in Europe. In contrast, the Middle East boasts “the most conflict-ridden record in the second half of the twentieth century.”[1]
