For all the good the Trump administration has done in the Middle East - restoring "Peace through Strength"-style deterrence, rebuilding alliances, and rejecting the Obama-era tilt toward Iran - it is now making a number of mistakes that stem from two fundamental errors that threaten to undermine much of that progress. Both stem from Western misunderstandings of the region's political and religious realities.
Washington continues to believe that prosperity can moderate jihadist ideology. The assumption is that if you give Islamists a chance at a better life - reconstruction funds, open markets, foreign investment - they will drop their commitment to holy war and join the "family of nations."
This is wishful thinking. The jihadists of Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and Syria's new strongman Ahmed al-Sharaa - a former al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorist recently welcomed to Washington after being delisted as a "specially designated global terrorist" - do not prioritize prosperity. They want victory. They want the destruction of Israel and the submission of the West. (Ed note: Very interesting thoughts.) (Read More)
