US Interests in the Mediterranean

As this essay was being written in December 2005, the primary global emphasis of US foreign policy was on the combat with insurgents in Iraq and on the effort to reconstruct that country and create a workable democracy there.¹ The United States also was focused on assisting the democratic government in Afghanistan; on issues relating to the possibility of North Korea and Iran acquiring nuclear weapons; and on energy policy, the environment, and the large US trade imbalance with the world, especially with China. These tend to overshadow issues in other parts of the world. For example, the United States continues to have significant interests in the Mediterranean region. Perhaps most important is US support for the independence and security of Israel, but the United States also will wish to maintain positive relations with the many countries of the region who are important allies in the all important "war on terror." The United States will promote the concept and practice of participatory democracy in the basin.

The Mediterranean region has always occupied a unique position in world politics. From the earliest days of history, its strategic location between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East has been a vital factor in international politics involving empire, conquest, cultures, and religions. During the Cold War, the region was one of the most important areas of confrontation between the West and the East, and the countries of Southern Europe were vital members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. That situation has eased with the end of the Cold War, but the Mediterranean continues to be the most notable area where nations of different religious backgrounds interface, and it is particularly important in that it is at the center of the nexus between Islamic countries and those with a Christian heritage. Regional efforts to work together offer one of the most important channels to bridge the differences between Islam and other religions. Some of the most intractable problems of the area, such as continuing Arab-Israeli tensions and those in the western Balkans, relate directly to this religious issue.

The Mediterranean also is an important component of efforts to promote European unity. Several of the countries in the littoral are already members of the European Union and one other, Turkey, is seeking to join. This is particularly important because Turkey would be the only country in the EU with a Muslim majority. The countries of North Africa also look to Europe as a partner in trade and in seeking solutions to regional problems. The Barcelona Process, in which the members of the EU and most of the other countries of the littoral agreed to work together on regional issues, is an excellent example of the positive interchange between differing cultures.

In fall 2005, riots in France and problems in other European countries highlighted another aspect of the tensions that affect the region. Immigration from North Africa and elsewhere to European countries has begun to cause serious political and cultural problems within Europe, akin to those that face the United States in dealing with immigration from Central and South America. While this phenomenon is mostly a domestic issue for the countries concerned, the United States will follow developments as they affect the stability of the region.

On a lighter note, if one looks at traditional geographic projections of the earth, the Mercator map for instance, it appears that the Mediterranean is the center of the world—and this view is widely held in the region. Indeed, it is noteworthy that developments in the region often have reverberations far beyond their geographic limits.

For these and other reasons, there is a long history of US diplomacy in the region. Some of the earliest international issues for the United States involved maintaining open access to trade routes in the Mediterranean by US merchant ships. Many of the earliest diplomatic establishments of the United States were in the region. This diplomatic presence continues to the present day. Since World War II, the United States has maintained significant military forces in the region in the form of the Sixth Fleet and numerous defense establishments...