After no breakthroughs emerged in the U.S.-Iran negotiations over the weekend, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would blockade the Strait of Hormuz. This latest escalation ahead of the pending end of the cease-fire moves the U.S. even further away from what should be its top priority in the Middle East: getting out.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has been a clear strategic defeat for the United States, at once exposing the limits of American power while degrading it in the process. The U.S. has taken enormous hits to its credibility as an ally and its reliability as a responsible actor on the global stage. The economic impacts are already painful, raising the cost of gas, food, and other staples around the world, with fears of a global recession mounting. But the Trump administration has not been able to muster an explanation for why these costs are worth it.
In the wake of yet another pointless Middle East war, the shrewd strategic move would be to dramatically scale back the U.S. footprint in the Middle East and to transform Washington’s relationship with Israel. This reorientation of U.S. foreign policy would do more to advance America’s security and prosperity than doubling down on a failed war.
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