Regime Change in the Greater Middle East

Since the 1950s, the United States has set out to oust governments in the Middle East around once per decade. It has done so in places as diverse as Iran, Afghanistan (twice), Iraq, Egypt, Libya and Syria, for very different reasons and in a wide variety of ways. What is common to all these efforts, however is that they failed to achieved their ultimate goals, produced a range of unintended consequences, carried heavy financial and human costs and in many cases left the countries in question worse off than they were before. I am working on a book looking back on these experiences, with the aim of drawing lessons for the current policy debates about potential regime change policies in Iran, Syria, Venezuela, and elsewhere. My book, Losing the Long Game: the False Promise of Regime Change in the Middle East, will be released in October 2020. https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Long-Game-Promise-Regime/dp/1250217032/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=losing+the+long+game&qid=1585744806&s=books&sr=1-1