A Paradigm Shift for the Middle East

What should President Trump do in the Middle East- in Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank? I try to answer that question in a new article in Foreign Affairs magazine (attached), and I argue that this is a moment of real opportunity:

Trump can take advantage of the situation, but only if his administration is willing to abandon Washington’s habitual goal in the Middle East—“stability”—and presses instead for dramatic changes that will benefit the security of the United States and its allies. For two decades, what American policymakers have called “stability” has meant the preservation of the situation in which Gaza was entirely under Hamas control, Hezbollah dominated Lebanon, and Iran’s nuclear program advanced. A better term for that situation would have been “erosion,” as U.S. influence steadily slipped away and Washington’s allies became less secure. Now, the United States has a chance to stop that process and aim instead for “reinforcement”: bolstering its interests and allies and actively weakening its adversaries. The result would be a region where threats diminish and U.S. alliances grow stronger.

The article can be found here, in Foreign Affairs.