This thesis proposes that US policy is structurally flawed toward Iraq and the Middle East in general. This structural flaw in US policy-making is a result of ignoring the regional considerations of the Middle East as a subsystem. Current US strategy toward Iraq is doomed to fail because of the unique structural considerations in the Middle East and the failure of policy-makers to recognize them; The thesis begins with a theoretical examination of the Middle East subsystem, based on principles from international systems theory. Several patterns of regularity that define the subsystem are then outlined. An assessment of US goals and strategies in the region and specifically toward Iraq will be discussed in terms of the systemic nature of the region. Finally, the case of US sanctions in Iraq will be used as an example of a failed US policy that was not in line with the regional considerations of the Middle East
