"Most dramatically, first Israel and the United States bombed Iran's nuclear facilities. Some commentators feared that President Trump's decision to bomb Iran would drag the United States into the "forever wars" in the Middle East that presidential candidate Trump had pledged to avoid. The tragic war in Gaza had become a humanitarian disaster. After years of promising to reduce engagement with the region from Democratic and Republican presidents alike, it appeared that the US was being dragged back into Middle East once again."
"Instead, in 2026, President Trump, his administration, the US Congress, and the American people more generally must realize that the real challenges to the American national interests, the free world, and global order more generally come not from the Middle East but from the autocratic China and Russia. The three-decade honeymoon from great power politics after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War is over."
In 2025 intense conflicts in the Middle East, including Israeli and US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites and a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, threatened to pull the United States back into prolonged regional wars. Political promises to reduce engagement with the region gave way to renewed involvement. The primary strategic challenge now lies with autocratic China and Russia rather than the Middle East. The three-decade post–Cold War respite in great power rivalry has ended. Success requires accurately diagnosing the evolving threat posed by China and Russia and devising and implementing effective strategic responses.
Read at WIRED
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