Wars of Ambition: The United States, Iran, and the Struggle for the Middle East

The September 11 attacks upended America’s relatively strong influence in the Middle East and prompted President George W. Bush’s plan to remake the region through a war in Iraq. By bringing liberal democracy to Iraq, Bush hoped that the country would be a springboard for the spread of democracy to neighboring authoritarian states. Yet the war’s disruption created an opportunity for Iran to advance its own opposing ambitions—one that would turn the Middle East into a bastion of resistance to Western hegemony and bring an end to Israel’s existence as a Jewish state. The resulting clash not only intensified the Iraq War, it reverberated in states across the region. With the outbreak of new conflicts, the US-Iranian showdown became entwined in a much more complex struggle, one which drew in other regional and foreign powers that all pursued differing agendas.

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Release date

Lydbog: 1. august 2024