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America Must Get Out of the Middle East for Good
After no breakthroughs emerged in the U.S.-Iran negotiations over the weekend, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would blockade the Strait of Hormuz. This latest escalation ahead of the pending end of the cease-fire moves the U.S. even further away from what should be its top priority in the Middle East: getting out.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has been a clear strategic defeat for the United States, at once exposing the limits of American power while degrading it in the process. The U.S. has taken enormous hits to its credibility as an ally and its reliability as a responsible actor on the global stage. The economic impacts are already painful, raising the cost of gas, food, and other staples around the world, with fears of a global recession mounting. But the Trump administration has not been able to muster an explanation for why these costs are worth it.
In the wake of yet another pointless Middle East war, the shrewd strategic move would be to dramatically scale back the U.S. footprint in the Middle East and to transform Washington’s relationship with Israel. This reorientation of U.S. foreign policy would do more to advance America’s security and prosperity than doubling down on a failed war.
The Pentagon reports that the U.S. has hit 13,000 targets in Iran and decimated its navy, air defense systems, missile facilities, and command and control and logistical networks. U.S.-Israeli attacks have also eviscerated the upper ranks of Iran’s leadership. Yet the Islamic Republic remains unbowed and arguably in a stronger strategic position than before the war, given its de facto control of the Strait of Hormuz. The war in Iran has been another demonstration of a lesson Washington should have learned long ago: the region’s problems cannot be solved by overwhelming military force.
The U.S. has spent hundreds of billions of dollars over the course of decades building up its security presence in the Middle East. But in a matter of a few weeks, Iran’s retaliatory attacks exacted severe damage on at least 13 of those bases. The extensive U.S. footprint in the region has served little utility in the war and provided Iran with ample targets. If U.S. bases are useless in a major regional conflict, then what exactly is the point of the costly American presence in the region? What interests does the U.S. have in the region that warrant such an outsized permanent presence?
Ultimately, there is no threat emanating from the Middle East that can harm the United States. Indeed, the greatest source of the region’s instability over the last 25 years has been the United States’ quest for regional dominance and its enablement of Israeli aggression. The war with Iran has underscored once again that the U.S.-Israel relationship is a strategic liability for Washington.
Iran may pose a threat to Israel, but the Islamic Republic represents no such danger to the United States. While Trump made the call to enter this war, there is no doubt that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s influence played a significant role in Trump’s decision.
Despite the hundreds of billions in weapons the U.S. has given to Tel Aviv, the U.S. has greatly depleted its own munitions stockpiles defending Israel since Hamas’s October 7 attack.
Washington’s unwavering support for Israel weakens American security while doing nothing to advance American interests. In fact, U.S. and Israeli interests often diverge in the region, as is the case with Israel’s continued bombing of Lebanon that has jeopardized the current cease-fire and diplomatic efforts with Iran.
The U.S. rarely uses its immense leverage to prevent Israel from undermining America’s strategic goals. This imbalance should be corrected, with the United States beginning to treat Israel like a normal partner and forcing it to shoulder the burden for its own defense. Changing the nature of the U.S.-Israel relationship would enable the United States to pull back from the region and lessen the likelihood of getting drawn into Middle Eastern conflicts. Similarly, the wealthy Gulf states should also be responsible for their own security. They have more at stake in the fate of the Strait of Hormuz than anyone.
For decades, the U.S. foreign policy establishment has foolishly entangled the U.S. in the Middle East, and that entanglement has harmed American interests, needlessly wasting blood and treasure while cultivating anti-American sentiment and terrorism. The war in Iraq cost $2 trillion, and the war in Iran is costing at least $1 billion a day. Washington is throwing good money after bad in the region, when these resources could be used to improve Americans’ lives.
It’s time for U.S. foreign policy to focus on what matters: protecting the homeland and advancing Americans’ prosperity, not projecting power in a region of declining strategic importance like the Middle East. A good first step would be to end this war, even if Washington just walks away without a deal with Iran.
If this really is America’s Suez moment, managing the decline in Washington’s relative global power position requires a ruthless prioritization of American interests. The Middle East’s conflicts and quarrels shouldn’t be on that priority list.
After no breakthroughs emerged in the U.S.-Iran negotiations over the weekend, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would blockade the Strait of Hormuz. This latest escalation ahead of the pending end of the cease-fire moves the U.S. even further away from what should be its top priority in the Middle East: getting out.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has been a clear strategic defeat for the United States, at once exposing the limits of American power while degrading it in the process. The U.S. has taken enormous hits to its credibility as an ally and its reliability as a responsible actor on the global stage. The economic impacts are already painful, raising the cost of gas, food, and other staples around the world, with fears of a global recession mounting. But the Trump administration has not been able to muster an explanation for why these costs are worth it.
In the wake of yet another pointless Middle East war, the shrewd strategic move would be to dramatically scale back the U.S. footprint in the Middle East and to transform Washington’s relationship with Israel. This reorientation of U.S. foreign policy would do more to advance America’s security and prosperity than doubling down on a failed war.
The Pentagon reports that the U.S. has hit 13,000 targets in Iran and decimated its navy, air defense systems, missile facilities, and command and control and logistical networks. U.S.-Israeli attacks have also eviscerated the upper ranks of Iran’s leadership. Yet the Islamic Republic remains unbowed and arguably in a stronger strategic position than before the war, given its de facto control of the Strait of Hormuz. The war in Iran has been another demonstration of a lesson Washington should have learned long ago: the region’s problems cannot be solved by overwhelming military force.
The U.S. has spent hundreds of billions of dollars over the course of decades building up its security presence in the Middle East. But in a matter of a few weeks, Iran’s retaliatory attacks exacted severe damage on at least 13 of those bases. The extensive U.S. footprint in the region has served little utility in the war and provided Iran with ample targets. If U.S. bases are useless in a major regional conflict, then what exactly is the point of the costly American presence in the region? What interests does the U.S. have in the region that warrant such an outsized permanent presence?
Ultimately, there is no threat emanating from the Middle East that can harm the United States. Indeed, the greatest source of the region’s instability over the last 25 years has been the United States’ quest for regional dominance and its enablement of Israeli aggression. The war with Iran has underscored once again that the U.S.-Israel relationship is a strategic liability for Washington.
Iran may pose a threat to Israel, but the Islamic Republic represents no such danger to the United States. While Trump made the call to enter this war, there is no doubt that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s influence played a significant role in Trump’s decision.
Despite the hundreds of billions in weapons the U.S. has given to Tel Aviv, the U.S. has greatly depleted its own munitions stockpiles defending Israel since Hamas’s October 7 attack.
Washington’s unwavering support for Israel weakens American security while doing nothing to advance American interests. In fact, U.S. and Israeli interests often diverge in the region, as is the case with Israel’s continued bombing of Lebanon that has jeopardized the current cease-fire and diplomatic efforts with Iran.
The U.S. rarely uses its immense leverage to prevent Israel from undermining America’s strategic goals. This imbalance should be corrected, with the United States beginning to treat Israel like a normal partner and forcing it to shoulder the burden for its own defense. Changing the nature of the U.S.-Israel relationship would enable the United States to pull back from the region and lessen the likelihood of getting drawn into Middle Eastern conflicts. Similarly, the wealthy Gulf states should also be responsible for their own security. They have more at stake in the fate of the Strait of Hormuz than anyone.
For decades, the U.S. foreign policy establishment has foolishly entangled the U.S. in the Middle East, and that entanglement has harmed American interests, needlessly wasting blood and treasure while cultivating anti-American sentiment and terrorism. The war in Iraq cost $2 trillion, and the war in Iran is costing at least $1 billion a day. Washington is throwing good money after bad in the region, when these resources could be used to improve Americans’ lives.
It’s time for U.S. foreign policy to focus on what matters: protecting the homeland and advancing Americans’ prosperity, not projecting power in a region of declining strategic importance like the Middle East. A good first step would be to end this war, even if Washington just walks away without a deal with Iran.
If this really is America’s Suez moment, managing the decline in Washington’s relative global power position requires a ruthless prioritization of American interests. The Middle East’s conflicts and quarrels shouldn’t be on that priority list.
