HOW WESTERN POWERS USE THE ETHNO-CONFESSIONAL FACTOR IN THE MIDDLE EAST E. I. USTINOV Candidate of Historical Sciences Near and Middle East Keywords:, ethno-confessional manipulation, US program for working with the local population Politicians and military personnel of Western states, led by the United States and Great Britain, are trying to force the population of the Middle East (as well as other countries where the West is implementing its expansionist policy) to "love" uninvited guests from a distant and alien world, or at least treat them with sympathy. The support of local residents is needed by these "guests" who are constantly uncomfortable with the hostile attitude of the indigenous population towards them. This article tells about the attempts made by the West to "build bridges" between two ideologies, cultures, lifestyles, and, by and large, between two worlds. Analysis of the mechanisms used by the United States to use the ethno-confessional factor makes it possible to identify the direction of current events in the region, their real driving forces, as well as to predict the emergence and development of new crisis situations, identify tools and methods for their solutions. USA AND ETHNO-CONFESSIONAL MANIPULATION In modern conditions, the United States, while solving the problems of ensuring free access and possible control over the energy resources of the Middle East, seeks to ensure the continuity of the strategic foundations of its foreign policy and still considers the region as a zone of its vital interests. A characteristic feature of the activity of American foreign and security agencies in achieving global leadership is the use of multidimensional approaches, including sociological innovations in the military sphere, to manipulate local interethnic and inter-religious contradictions. American administrations, pushing world public opinion and US citizens to believe that the reason for the so-called "civilizational lag" and the growth of extremist ... Читать далее