s the United States prepares for elections, the world holds its breath. Given Washington’s global importance and the vastly different outlooks of the candidates, U.S. allies and enemies alike must prepare not only for two different Americas, but two different worlds. Nowhere is this more so than in the Middle East.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. The Middle East seems to be at a crossroads. Either the region will further embroil itself in the radical, toxic, and revolutionary ideologies that have caused so much anguish over the last century, or it will embrace a path to tolerance, stability, and prosperity. In the first camp are Iran, Turkey, Qatar, Palestinian groups, the Muslim Brotherhood and the many terrorist organizations that occupy the region. In the latter, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, the Kurdish Regional Government and Israel.
As the countries of the region seek to navigate these choppy waters, the U.S. elections will likely determine their strategy.
To be sure, both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump share the same end goal for the region, which is disengagement. Following two unpopular wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and with the desire to pivot towards China, both candidates understand that an over-involved United States in the region is both unpopular and would lead to less available resources to be allocated east.
But that end goal is the candidates’ only commonality.
Harris has shown no signs she would break from the Obama-Biden strategy for the region, which shifted the balance of power toward Iran. Both attempted to pacify Iran with economic incentives, non-enforcement of sanctions and political concessions.
Read the rest at Newsweek.
Joseph Epstein is a Fellow at Yorktown Institute.
