MORE FROM HUFFPOST
MORE FROM HUFFPOST
us-middle-east-policy
America's closest allies, Israel and the Saudis, have been expressing something close to loathing for President Obama and his policies. In fact, you could think of the Saudi rulers as the John McCains of the Arabian Peninsula.
An informal bloc of Iran, Pakistan and Turkey would represent a significantly more progressive, moderate and forward-looking coalition than the present Saudi-driven "Sunni coalition" that is divisive, ideological, destructive and sectarian.
Many are voicing surprise at the comments of IMF head Christine Lagarde following the death of the Saudi monarch. We see here the emptiness of a shallow diversity that seeks to put a woman in a prominent position while maintaining incredibly oppressive power dynamics.
The focus of our strategy should not be on what we do or do not do with our military. The principal focus of our "fight" should be on getting the countries in the Middle East, like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, etc., to make the defeat of ISIS their responsibility.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
WHAT'S HAPPENING
According to the White House, the decision to send additional military advisors represents a new phase of U.S. strategy in dealing with the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). To the contrary, I'll argue that this augmentation in the number of military advisors represents failure and a lack of a clear strategy for dealing with ISIS.
A collective sigh of relief was almost audible across Washington and other western capitals when Sisi accomplished the mission and successfully staged his blood-drenched military coup.
Sen. Bob Corker told the Wilson Center last June that, looking back on more than a decade of armed conflict with al-Qaeda, Congress finds itself left with "no ownership whatsoever" of U.S. counterterrorism policy. He called the hands-off congressional approach "totally feckless" -- and he's right.
No American president has ever begun a year with as many different foreign policy crises as Obama now faces. It would be understandable if he took one look at this list and remained in Hawaii playing golf.
