President Trump’s policies in the Middle East are separating out who stands for what and with whom in that tumultuous region.
It is not yet clear whether Trump’s dramatic initiatives will work and serve American interests and the cause of peace. But one thing that can be said already is that moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, forging bonds with Persian Gulf leaders, and working with Iraq’s military against the Islamic State all help put U.S. policy on a footing of truth rather than make-believe, which is reason to celebrate.
Moving the embassy fulfills the promise Trump and his predecessors all made. Keeping promises is a good thing, both in establishing American credibility, and simply because honesty and reliability are virtues. The embassy is also honest in a still more important way. Jerusalem has been the most important city in Judaism for thousands of years; the remains of King Solomon’s temple are still there, and it is inconceivable that any solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict would not include Jerusalem being the capital of the Jewish state. Accepting that fact officially is the right thing to do. Realpolitik will always be important to foreign policy, but falsehood is not a firm long-term foundation for it.
Meanwhile, Trump has severed the fanciful bonds that former President Barack Obama sought to establish between the U.S. and the clerical tyranny that runs Iran. By pulling out of the nuclear deal, Trump reassures the bloc of Sunni-Arab monarchies led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that American policy toward the region is not built on the daydream that Tehran is pragmatic and could be a regional ally, rather than a country presided over by a group ideologically committed to terrorism and the domination of its neighbors.
Beyond the old oil-for-security deal, Trump’s gestures support emerging democratization, economic diversification, expanded women’s rights, and the marginalization of Islamist extremist influences. He is greatly aided in this, and his policy is given a large dose of credibility by the emergence of Mohammed bin Salman as the young reformist crown prince in Riyadh.
In contrast, Iran’s government is a maleficent force wherever it can project its power. It represses its people, funds Hamas, and backs Bashar Assad in Syria. Trump is isolating Iran from the other Middle East powers.
Trump is shaking our foes and supporting our allies. There are obvious risks in doing this, but there is also promise. And it is not as though the status quo was working well.
As he pressures Iran to accept a new nuclear agreement more balanced toward regional security, Trump must be astute about Iranian internal political feuds. If not, he risks the triumph of hardliner influences and Iran’s resumption of nuclear enrichment. That uncomfortable prospect would force Trump to choose between using military force or retreating at the cost of American credibility.
In Saudi Arabia, Trump must likewise ensure that Crown Prince Salman expands the rights of all his citizens, including the Shia minority. Trump must also temper Salman’s expansionist foreign policy as rendered in Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
And even as the Gulf states claim to support U.S. foreign policy, Trump must challenge human rights abuses in Bahrain and terrorist financiers in Qatar.
In the Palestinian territories, Trump must act aggressively to counter the forces of disenchantment and nihilism. Hamas cannot be reasoned with, another truth Trump is making clear, but the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and the Palestinian people require American help to build their confidence in the possibility of peace.
Trump is sorting allies, good-faith actors, plausible partners, and evil regimes. He is radically disrupting the failed status quo. The results are unknowable. But there’s a virtue in making the truth more evident to the world.
