Military Review English Edition January-February 2015 | Page 134

and in countries affected by the Arab Spring, positing solutions for future American engagement in
the Middle East. The author begins by highlighting
American strategic failures in Iraq and Afghanistan
that indicate a lack of long-term thinking and inadequate support to nonmilitary efforts. A thread Rohde
begins in his discussion of Iraq and Afghanistan and
picks up with relish when continuing on to discuss
American policy in Pakistan, Turkey, Tunisia, Libya,
and Egypt is an American tendency to give aid and
fund projects receiving countries did not request and
cannot sustain.
One dismaying consequence of this is the United
States often spends vast amounts of money and yet
is viewed negatively by local recipients. The author
details problems inherent in Washington that prevent successful foreign aid policy, including a culture
of risk aversion and noncollaboration that leads to
fractious policy and serious understaffing.
Based on abundant ex