Few events have altered the geopolitical trajectory of the Middle East as profoundly as 11 September 2001. The attacks on New York and Washington did not merely trigger an American military response. They transformed the way power, sovereignty and security were understood across the region. 

The United States responded by declaring a global “War on Terror”, initially targeting Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. But the campaign soon expanded into a broader doctrine of preventive war, regime change and military intervention. The Middle East became the principal theatre in which Washington tested a new conception of American power.

The United States responded by declaring a global “War on Terror”, initially targeting Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. But the campaign soon expanded into a broader doctrine of preventive war, regime change and military intervention. The Middle East became the principal theatre in which Washington tested a new conception of American power.

The consequences were far more complex than the architects of the post-9/11 strategy anticipated. Military superiority proved capable of destroying regimes, but far less capable of constructing legitimate and durable political orders. The wars launched in the name of security instead contributed to the fragmentation of regional politics, the expansion of Iranian influence and the emergence of new forms of geopolitical competition.

Most importantly, the post-9/11 order gradually weakened the very unipolar system that Washington had sought to consolidate. What began as an attempt to reinforce American primacy ultimately accelerated the transition towards a more fragmented Middle East, in which regional powers and external actors increasingly contested the United States’ influence.

OPINION: After 9/11: How the Muslim became a security subject

Iraq, Iran and the Unravelling of the Old Regional Order

The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the decisive turning point. The removal of Saddam Hussein demonstrated the extraordinary reach of American military power, but it also exposed the limits of coercion as a strategy for regional order.

The invasion was conducted without explicit authorisation........

© Middle East Monitor