Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
President Trump has defined his presidency in terms of the successes and failures of his predecessors, especially when it comes to wars in the Middle East.
There are risks in departing Syria, but there are far greater ones in staying. That’s particularly true if the United States. cannot achieve the goals it has set publicly, and if Russia, Iran, and Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime continue to have their way.
The best hope for Trump’s Middle East policy is that his administration continues to avoid getting America into new conflicts and to think about how to disentangle it from old, unwinnable ones.
Although the president’s failure to consult with Congress and allies in making the decision to withdraw from Syria was diplomatic malpractice, critics’ fears about the withdrawal are overblown.
