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The US Can’t — and Shouldn’t — Escape the Middle East
For a hegemon that thrives on global order, putting out fires is better than relying on every nation to fend for itself.
Every recent president gets their Middle Eastern war, whether they want it or not. Since Ronald Reagan’s time, each administration has engaged in at least one significant military conflict in the region. Even presidents who wanted nothing more than to escape the Middle East were, almost ineluctably, dragged back in. Now it’s Joe Biden’s turn.
Biden came to office pledging to end America’s “forever wars.” Yet he finds himself fighting Houthi forces that have been menacing vital maritime traffic, as well as other Iranian proxies that are hunting US military personnel. Following the attack that killed three American service members in Jordan, and now Biden’s retaliatory strikes in Syria and Iraq, the risk of a larger war — perhaps even a direct US-Iran showdown — is growing. Washington is thus waging its own multiparty conflict, amid the Middle Eastern maelstrom that Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in Israel unleashed.