One of the great unanswered questions after the massive and violent changes that hit the Middle East in 2011 – known to some as the “Arab Spring” and to others as the “Islamist Winter” – is how the West failed to predict both cataclysmic seasons in world affairs and to meet their challenges. The so-called spring didn’t last long, quickly unraveling into a collection of civil wars, civil unrest, and secessions. Walid Phares argues that Washington is too hesitant to take action when necessary, that U.S. policy is highly disoriented on counterterrorism efforts, and that the effects of these errors have already proven costly. In Benghazi, U.S. foreign policy failed to see the explosions coming, didn’t meet the challenges of political transformation where and with whom it should, and failed in isolating the Jihadi terrorists worldwide. Too many strategic errors were committed. In his newest book, The Lost Spring, Phares examines the fallout from the 2011 upheavals and posits that a major demise of U.S. and Western policies will occur in the area, unless deep changes in strategies and policies are made in Washington and around the world.
Dr. Walid Phares is a noted terrorism and Middle East expert and serves as an advisor to Congress and to members of the European Parliament. He is the Co-Secretary General of the Transatlantic Parliamentary Group on Counter Terrorism and is a frequent guest on U.S. and Arab media. Phares served as an MSNBC Terrorism analyst beginning in 2003 and has been a Fox News Middle East expert since 2007. His columns have appeared in many publications including The Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Le Figaro.
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http://www.heritage.org/events/2014/03/lost-spring