	Enduring U.S. However, many long-standing U.S. goals in the region endure. Congress and U.S. Policy28

The fluidity and ambiguity of events in the Middle East since early 2011 have created a challenging menu of choices for Members of Congress and Administration officials. U.S. What overarching principles and interests should guide the U.S. response to change in the Middle East? With what relative importance and priority? Should U.S. responses be tailored to individual circumstances or guided by a unified set of principles, assumptions, and goals? How can U.S. interests in security, commerce, energy, good governance, and human rights best be reconciled? What are the relative risks and rewards of immediately or directly acting to shape the course of unrest and transitions in the Arab world? What are the potential risks and rewards of a gradual response or of a "wait-and-see" approach? What are other regional and global actors doing or not doing to shape outcomes? Why or why not? At what risk or benefit to U.S. interests? How have established patterns of interaction and existing policies in the Middle East served U.S. interests over time? How have they shaped the range of choices now available to U.S. decision makers, both from a regional perspective and in specific countries? In what ways, if any, should legislative precedent, bureaucratic infrastructure, and funding patterns be revisited? What are the relative roles and responsibilities of Congress and the executive branch in defining future policy? How are U.S. interests and options affected by trends associated with the ongoing change in the Middle East, such as the democratic empowerment of Islamist parties, the weakening of state security authority, or the increased assertiveness of public opinion as an influence on regional policy makers? What new opportunities and risks might these trends entail? How should U.S. policy responses to political change in the broader Middle East be informed by parallel and longer-standing concerns about the Iranian nuclear program, transnational terrorism, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? How should an understanding of the implications of Arab political change inform U.S. policy on other major policy questions?
The political change and unrest that have swept through the Middle East and North Africa since early 2011 are likely to have profound consequences for the pursuit of long-standing U.S. policy goals in the region with regard to regional security, global energy supplies, U.S. military access, bilateral trade and investment, counter-proliferation, counterterrorism, and the promotion of human rights. The profound changes in the region may alter the framework in which these goals are pursued and challenge the basic assumptions that have long guided U.S. policy.
This report assesses some of the policy implications of recent and ongoing events in the region, provides an overview of U.S. responses to date, and explores select case studies to illustrate some key questions and dilemmas that Congress and the executive branch may face with regard to these issues and others in the future. Questions for possible congressional consideration raised in this report and in corresponding country reports include:
What overarching principles and interests should guide the U.S. response to change in the Middle East? With what relative importance and priority? Should U.S. responses be tailored to individual circumstances or guided by a unified set of principles, assumptions, and goals? How can U.S. interests in security, commerce, energy, good governance, and human rights best be reconciled? What are the relative risks and rewards of immediately or directly acting to shape the course of unrest and transitions in the Arab world? What are the potential risks and rewards of a gradual response or of a "wait-and-see" approach? What are other regional and global actors doing or not doing to shape outcomes? Why or why not? At what risk or benefit to U.S. interests? How have established patterns of interaction and existing policies in the Middle East served U.S. interests over time? How have they shaped the range of choices now available to U.S. decision makers, both from a regional perspective and in specific countries? In what ways, if any, should legislative precedent, bureaucratic infrastructure, and funding patterns be revisited? What are the relative roles and responsibilities of Congress and the executive branch in defining future policy? How are U.S. interests and options affected by trends associated with the ongoing change in the Middle East, such as the democratic empowerment of Islamist parties, the weakening of state security authority, or the increased assertiveness of public opinion as an influence on regional policy makers? What new opportunities and risks might these trends entail? How should U.S. policy responses to political change in the broader Middle East be informed by parallel and longer-standing concerns about the Iranian nuclear program, transnational terrorism, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? How should an understanding of the implications of Arab political change inform U.S. policy on other major policy questions?