I’m from the Philippines, and I believe that the top foreign-policy priority of the would-be winner of the 2012 US presidential election should be the Middle East. The 3 reasons are: 1.) Iran has been playing a cat-and-mouse game about its nuclear program and its government is threatening to shut down the Strait of Hormuz. 2.) The ongoing Syrian conflict is becoming a huge problem for the international community. 3.) Radical Islamists want to hijack the Arab Spring and convert it into an opportunity wherein they can establish Militant Islamist governments all over the region.

Iran has been sponsoring terrorist and radical groups since 1979. Hence, the possibility that terrorist and radical groups may acquire nuclear weapons from Iran is real. Such danger may lead to global conflict. The ongoing conflict in Syria is also a war between Shiites and Sunnis in such a country. The possibility that the conflict in Syria would become regional and, later, be turned into a global war is also real. The Arab Spring has somehow given us hope that the whole Middle East region would become democratized. The Middle East region has cultural and economic significance to many people all over the world. The Middle East is the birthplace of Abrahamic religions such as Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Also, many places in the said region are considered as among the “cradles of human civilization.” Many countries depend on the Middle East when it comes to oil supply. Wealthy countries, the newly-industrialized nations, and the Third World (or the Developing World) want a steady supply of oil from the Middle East. It would truly be a milestone in human history if the whole Middle East region would be democratized. That is because the Middle East has cultural and economic significance to many people all over the world. But Radical Islamists want to hijack the Arab Spring and they want to set up governments that would go against the International Law. Remember that Radical Islamists don’t respect the concept of a global village. They don’t like the idea of a global village. Hence, it would be dangerous for the world to see the whole Middle East region becoming a bastion of Radical Islamism.

Whether it’s Romney or it’s Obama who wins the US presidential election, the United States’ top foreign-policy- priority for the next 4 years should be the Middle East. What I mean by the word “Middle East” here is both the Near East and North Africa. There are 4 countries in that region which now have “Post-Arab Spring governments.” Such countries are Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen. All of such nations need US help in order to march properly towards the path to democracy, freedom and economic stability. The successful march of such “Post-Arab Spring nations” to democracy, freedom and economic stability would set the stage for the realization of the vision of the whole Middle East gaining democracy, freedom and economic progress. Such is the vision of most Arabs. The US and the whole Free World should not allow such vision be turned into a nightmare by religious extremists.