Principles to Guide U.S. Military Engagement in the Middle East

Posted: January 31st, 2017

By James Jeffrey

Ambassador James F. Jeffrey joined the Wilson Center in December 2020 as Chair of the Middle East Program. Ambassador Jeffrey served as the Secretary’s Special Representative for Syria Engagement and the Special Envoy to the Global Coalition To Defeat ISIS until November 8, 2020. He is a senior American diplomat with experience in political, security, and energy issues in the Middle East, Turkey, Germany, and the Balkans.

By Michael Eisenstadt

Michael Eisenstadt is Kahn Fellow, and Director of the Military and Security Studies Program at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. A specialist in Persian Gulf and Arab-Israeli security affairs, he has published widely on irregular and conventional warfare and nuclear weapons proliferation in the Middle East. Prior to joining the Institute in 1989, Eisenstadt worked as a military analyst with the U.S. government. Eisenstadt served for twenty-six years as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve before retiring in 2010. His military service included stints in Iraq; Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan; Turkey; the Office of the Secretary of Defense; the Joint Staff, and; U.S. Central Command headquarters. He is the author of "Iran's Lengthening Cyber Shadow."

Some of the most significant challenges the Trump administration will face are in the Middle East. These include the threat of salafi-Jihadist terrorism, Iran’s efforts to create a “Shiite crescent” spanning the region, and a resurgent Russian role. In the Middle East, President Donald Trump, like his last five predecessors, will be a wartime president—whether he wants to or not.

Many consider the results of America’s military engagement in the broader Middle East over the past four decades to be incommensurate to the nation’s sacrifice. Particularly since 9/11, many Americans have grown frustrated with their nation’s involvement in the Middle East’s “forever wars.”

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