Oil and Terrorism in the New Gulf examines the national security implications of U.S. energy security policies in the Middle East, and the emerging U.S. involvement in oil exploration and extraction in West Africa. Similar political, social, and economic challenges_poverty, corruption, lack of infrastructure, and weak governments_are seen in the oil-producing states of both the Middle East and Africa. Drawing comparisons between these two regions allows Forest and Sousa to formulate policy recommendations for how to handle foreign policy toward Africa in the future based on lessons learned from past interaction with the Middle East. Oil and Terrorism in the New Gulf promises to inform a lively debate over the future of U.S. foreign policies toward Africa and is a valuable resource for policymakers and the academic community that should be approached in a coherent, integrated fashion to ensure the success of the United State's energy and national security agendas.

James J.F. Forest is director of terrorism studies and assistant professor at the United States Military Academy. Mattew V. Sousa is currently serving as a Foreign Area Officer in the U.S. Army, specializing in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Chapter 1 Oil and Security: An IntroductionChapter 2 A Region of Opportunities and ChallengesChapter 3 A Region in TroubleChapter 4 The Emerging Terrorist Threat to West and Central AfricaChapter 5 A History of U.S. Foreign Policies in the Middle East and the Old GulfChapter 6 Contemporary U.S. Foreign Policies in the New GulfChapter 7 A New Framework for 21st Century U.S.-Africa PoliciesChapter 8 Addressing the Security Challenges of the Gulf of GuineaChapter 9 Facilitating Economic DevelopmentChapter 10 Democratization and Leadership for Good GovernanceChapter 11 The Policy Coordination ImperativeChapter 12 Conclusion