ABSTRACT
The U.S. role in the region is replete with tensions and contradictions, as the history of mediation in the period 1950–1990 clearly demonstrates, and which was discussed in this chapter. Mediation combines different elements that on occasions that are aligned with each other, but that on others are diametrically opposed. Critics allege that this contradiction is an inadvertent outcome but instead claim that it reflects a ‘double standard’ that embodies and upholds U.S. interests in the region. On this basis, it might therefore be more accurate to speak of the U.S. roles in the region.
