The big strategic idea of his administration was “rebalancing”: US foreign policy should de-emphasise the Middle East and focus more on Asia, the principal theater in which the world’s trajectory in the new century would be decided. Obama also voiced support for regime change in Syria, although in that case his reluctance to involve the US further in the Middle East won out. When Donald Trump succeeded Obama close to three years ago, he was determined not to repeat the perceived mistakes of his predecessor. The boom in domestic oil and natural gas production had made the US self-sufficient in terms of energy, thereby reducing the direct importance of the Middle East. It could well be that I got it wrong – or that Trump has, by embarking on a course of action without first thinking through the strategic consequences.

Source: Libya Today January 06, 2020 09:33 UTC