Book excerpt: "The Bush Administration's foreign policy has comprised three key components: security through forward defence; a black-andwhite view of the post-9/1 1 world; and, most pervasively, the so-called freedom agenda. These elements combine in an approach that many see as imperious and detached from on-the-ground realities. The thesis of this paper is that the United States requires a more balanced and realistic policy agenda in the Middle East, which discards the strident promotion of constitutional democracy in favour of a less imperious approach based on values that are meaningful to Middle Eastern people and societies. Revised U.S. policies and supporting strategies should reflect the complex and volatile relationship between the Western and Islamic worlds. Some analyses suggest that their clash is inevitable, while others offer hope for an "alliance of civilizations." Such an alliance would require a concerted effort to reconcile Westem and Islamic ideologies, which do not appear to be wholly incompatible. The United States and her allies must seek, through their policies and actions in the Middle East, to empower Muslims who advocate moderate interpretations of the Islamic texts. Radical Islamists and so-called jihadi fighters must be denied theological credibility. The U.S. agenda in the Middle East should also attempt to empower moderate and liberalizing political influences in the region. Middle Eastern regimes occupy a broad spectrum and many are undertaking cautious programmes of liberalization. Political Islam is an increasingly important feature of this social and political landscape. Islamist political parties should be encouraged to operate in the mainstream of politics and to exert moderating influences over their followers. Thus, the United States should discard her strident promotion of constitutional democracy in favour of more carefully focused encouragement of social, economic and political reform in the Middle East. The paper offers a set of 16 recommendations that represent a more realistic and balanced agenda in the Middle East."--Abstract.