The Middle of Nowhere: Why the Middle East Is Not Important

Edward Luttwak's brilliantly original and provocative book argues that, despite its oil reserves, the Middle East has less global relevance than ever before - and that it would be better for everyone if the rest of the world learned to ignore it.In this landmark short book, Edward Luttwak shows that Western media and policy-makers devote far too much attention to the Middle East. During the Cold War, the region was important as a theatre of competition between East and West. Since then, however, it has become the scene of a cyclical Israeli - Palestinian struggle that has no effect on the oil supply and very little impact outside the region. Luttwak acknowledges that threats from Saddam Hussein or Iran cannot be ignored, but shows that they are dwarfed in their global importance by the activities of the Chinese, Japanese, Russians and Indians.The Middle of Nowhere argues that the time has come for Westerners to refrain from invasion and intrusive benevolence. The peoples of the Middle East should finally be allowed to have their own history - the very thing that Middle East experts of all stripes seem determined to deny them.