Conflict and Crisis: U.S. Interventionism and Aid in the Middle East

This thesis proposes that United States’ intervention in the Middle East since World War II has led to counterproductive military policy decisions and proposes a greater focus on private humanitarian aid which engages the Middle Eastern culture more effectively than public funding entities. Conflict within the Middle East has escalated. To understand the nature of Middle Eastern political affairs, one must understand power politics, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Shi’a-Sunni split, U.S. relations, and Just War Theory. The U.S. has played a prominent role in the region, and this thesis concludes that the amount of aid currently allocated between military and humanitarian needs are disproportionately directed toward governmental policies despite the greater effectiveness of solely private aid initiatives