Various sub-regional organizations like the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) demonstrate an alternative way forward for military cooperation. Themes like Arab unity pushed nations closer together in styles ranging from the League of Arab States, a regional forum for independent governments, to the United Arab Republic (UAR) which tried to fulfill popular goals of a unified Arab nation. Some alliances, like the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), followed the NATO model and were backed by western powers. Scattered throughout the last century are numerous attempts to establish a security arrangement in the region. As a result, the Middle East does not have its own NATO. Every attempt to increase regional defense cooperation in the Middle East has only achieved minimal success or failed. Policymakers should not be optimistic about their goals. Cooperation would revolve around missile defense, counterterrorism, military training, and regional trade. The initial goals of the alliance sought to unite the Gulf Arab states with Egypt and Jordan against Iran and its proxies. MESA targets Iranian expansion and hopes to reduce American military and financial commitments while preserving its own strategic interests. The Middle East Strategic Alliance, or MESA, is Washington’s latest attempt to form a new regional security arrangement. President Obama initiated recent attempts at collective defense agreements with multiple different proposals. In contrast, the Middle East boasts “the most conflict-ridden record in the second half of the twentieth century.” NATO helped foster 70 years of economic growth and political cooperation in Europe. 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. 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.
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