In the Middle East, an uprising among young people is stirring. These young people that strongly disagree with their ruler’s choices are rebelling violently against the ruling party. Though this uprising or Arab Spring is occurring thousands of miles away, the results strongly affect us as American’s. Fourteen percent of our allied countries in this region are in the middle of this explosion of Arab Springs. These revolution revolts could be illustrated as the ants that make up a colony attacking their queen because these young men and women are fighting their leaders. So are the Arab Springs concerning to the U.S.? Because “there’s a lot that’s going to happen that is unpredictable”, the Arab Springs are concerning to the U.S. (Hillary Clinton). These concerns come from the fact that we are unsure about leadership changes, possible ally shifts, and uncertain U.S. allegiances.
The main reason that we are bothered about leadership changes is who will take over after the former “dictorial regime” is expunged (Reese Erlich). The first example of a bad leadership change would be if an unworthy ruler came into power. This ruler could possibly destroy the governmental infrastructure of the country. The second example of a bad leadership change would occur if a new dictator took political control; in fact, the same Arab Spring would occur all over again. The final example of why the U.S. is watching the leadership changes very closely is to make sure a terrorist group doesn’t take advantage of the disorder and chaos and comes into power in any of the countries. We don’t want this to happen because it would just create another international adversary for the U.S.
Ally shifts are another main point in the concern. A result that could come from an ally shift is not getting resources from the countries because their Arab Springs are disorganizing everything. If the Arab Springs continue in countries that we ally with, then any ally shifts could mean blowing off of contracts. Whether they were war contracts or assistance contracts, the fact is that they would be thrown to the side. Finally, ally shifts could mean that our allied countries experiencing these uprisings could stop buying things from the U.S. This would potentially affect the economy because it would stop income into our nation. To sum things up, the ally shifts caused by the springs would have heavy consequences.
The sides in the Arab Springs that we choose to affiliate ourselves with play an enormous role. Do we side with the rebels? If the rebels lose then the former rulers will hate us for opposing them. Do we encourage the hated rulers? If the rebels are successful in their coup then they will see us as enemies that tried to stop their revolution. Should we just stay neutral and leave this to them? What if the victorious faction is annoyed with us for not aiding in their victory? All these questions are on the mind of the government because all these questions are important and concerning.
All in all, the Arab Springs are very concerning to the U.S. They bring even more chaos and anarchy to the Middle East, a region that already has enough problems. The events occurring there just need to be looked at rationally; the U.S. should keep one eye planted on the Arab Springs. Hillary Clinton said it best: “We are trying to influence the direction”.