PNN – The rupture caused by the attack of Hamas provides an opportunity to develop a more stable and less risky US approach to the Middle East.
How Joe Biden and his administration manage Israel’s actions, as well as the broader geopolitical echoes of the war, has far-reaching consequences for regional stability and Washington’s ability to confront and deter its adversaries in the Middle East and elsewhere.
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- The injection of military hardware and more personnel could result in the United States being caught in endless security commitments in a region that Washington has been trying to get its foot out of until recently.
- Due to these dangers, the Middle East policy of the United States is in dire need of course correction. This necessity existed before the 7th of October and it is felt even more now.
- However, the Biden government has not shown any signs of short and medium term reforms and adaptations aimed at solving the failures and risks of its current strategy, and instead, it has adhered to a strictly security approach that relies on heavier military deployments in the region. And the normalization between the Arab countries and Israel is the cornerstone of a new security bloc led by the US in the Middle East.
- As soon as the current crisis in Gaza calms down, Washington should immediately start withdrawing its forces, as well as substantially reducing and reorganizing its military presence in this region. At the same time, it should invest in building the capacity and resilience of its regional partners so that they can work together more effectively to maintain regional stability and manage security challenges with less US support. Only this two-faceted approach can put America on the path of a more balanced Middle East policy.
- It is not clear whether the American policy makers have thought about the consequences and effects of the second and third levels of sending military forces and increasing the security role of the United States in the region or not, and also about what the friends and enemies of the United States will perceive and receive from this work. Specifically, the Biden administration must acknowledge and address three risks: escalation, backfire, and over-expansion of the military presence.
- The rupture caused by the attack of Hamas provides an opportunity to develop a more stable and less risky US approach to the Middle East. This crisis shows that as long as Washington maintains its tens of thousands of troops in the Middle East, there is a high possibility that it will be drawn into a large and costly regional war, even if there are not many benefits involved. It is to avoid this situation that America should reduce and reorganize its military presence.