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Losing the Long Game

The False Promise of Regime Change in the Middle East

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Losing the Long Game

By: Philip H. Gordon
Narrated by: Mark Deakins
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About this listen

 The definitive account of how regime change in the Middle East has proven so tempting to American policymakers for decades—despite never achieving the far-reaching aims of its proponents—and how it’s finally time to forge a new path forward.

Since the end of World War II, the United States has set out to oust governments in the Middle East on an average of once per decade—in places as diverse as Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan (twice), Egypt, Libya, and Syria. The reasons for these interventions have also been extremely diverse, and the methods by which the United States pursued regime change have also been highly varied, ranging from diplomatic pressure alone to outright military invasion and occuapation. What is common to all the operations, however, is that they failed to achieve their ultimate goals, produced a range of unintended and even catastrophic consequences, carried heavy financial and human costs, and in many cases left the countries in question worse off than they were before.

Losing the Long Game is a thorough and riveting look at the U.S. experience with regime change over the past seventy years, and an insider’s view on U.S. policymaking in the region at the highest levels. It is the story of repeated U.S. interventions in the region that always started out with high hopes and often the best of intentions, but never turned out well. No future discussion of U.S. policy in the Middle East will be complete without taking into account the lessons of the past, especially at a time of intense domestic polarization and reckoning with America's standing in world. Middle East Political Science Politics & Government United States World Iran War Military Military Policy Russia Africa American Foreign Policy Royalty
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What was the most frustrating part of this book is that the US despite multiple failures continued to try and over throw despots. Blowing up the country leaving vacuums for proxy’s and extremists to fill the void, time after time. It’s pretty shameful we celebrate America as a hegemony sometimes, when they seem to be pretty destabilising force. I’m not sure if it’s arrogance, hubris, or just comes with being the top dog in the world that they impose themselves. Gordon marks it for altruistic visions of spreading democracy but he is also honest it’s about installing puppet government that will be friendly to America that is the driving force behind American imperialism. Gordon’s critique of the multiple attempted coups is refreshing as a self critic of the failures of Americas hubris. I think especially since Gaza they’ve lost the right to dictate to other states about humanitarian law and the rules based order.

An examination of the US hubris, and failure to understand the countries they try to invade and the leaders they overthrow.

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