Reviving Western Unity in the Middle East

The constraints on U.S. power in the region made visible during the Obama years are here to stay. The U.S.-led security architecture is increasingly contested in Asia and Europe, requiring constant U.S. attention and resources. The U.S. fiscal predicament remains unsolved. Foreign interventionism is under attack by the presumptive Republican candidate, and by a prominent Democratic candidate even if the general public continues to support an active U.S. role in world affairs. In such a context, Washington alone cannot hope to efficiently tackle the most daunting security and defense challenges and threats in the region: terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, disintegration of traditional state structures, and the risks of conflict with Iran. Despite the current administration's skeptical view of key allies, the United States needs allies in this region now more than at any time in the last 60 years.