ABSTRACT
U.S. involvement in the Middle East since the end of the Cold War has been substantial but unsuccessful. The United States has spent $1.6 trillion on wars alone since September 2001, almost all of them in the Middle East. Every U.S. president in the last twenty-five years has authorized the bombing of Iraq, while the 2003 invasion of that country claimed the lives of almost 5,000 U.S. soldiers. It is not clear that this massive U.S. commitment to the region has contributed to either American security or regional stability. Worse, recent arguments over the Iranian nuclear deal and the fight against ISIS have highlighted the fact that commitments to our Cold War-era allies circumscribe U.S. freedom to pursue its diplomatic, economic, and security goals in the region. Some regional allies have become toxic, actively undermining U.S. foreign policy objectives. The United States has limited interests in the Middle East: preventing the rise of a regional hegemon, a secure energy supply, and counterterrorism. The first two arguably require nothing at all. None require the current high level of U.S. military engagement in the region. A better approach would move forces offshore, enabling the U.S. to achieve its limited security needs while minimizing involvement in the region’s interminable civil conflicts and sectarian struggles.
