U.S. Strategy in the Middle East Must Change

Nov. 29, 2007 -- Opportunity 08 is an ABC News project with the Brookings Institution to help presidential candidates and the public focus on critical issues facing the nation.This week, Opportunity 08 takes a closer look at the Middle East and how the next president can engage the Middle East constructively.

The United States hopes to breathe new life into peace talks between Israel and Palestine at this week's conference in Annapolis, Maryland. "After seven miserable years of conflict through violence and retaliation, the re-launching of the final status negotiations is worthwhile in and of itself," said Martin Indyk, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at Brookings.

But optimism is tempered by the realities of the challenges that lie ahead for the U.S. The war in Iraq and the decline of American influence in the region mean that U.S. strategy must change. "The consequences of declining American power are that the United States now finds itself in the position of demandeur. We no longer can insist, as President Bush's rhetoric suggests, that 'you're either with us or against us'," says Tamara Wittes, Arab-Israeli peace process expert at the Saban Center.

Indyk and Wittes say the next president will have to build a counter-alliance to the Iranian-Syrian-Iraqi Shi'a-Hezbollah alliance and "correct the tilt in Iran's favor that was the unintended consequence of the misadventure in Iraq."

This balance-of-power diplomacy approach inevitably will put the United States in league with unfamiliar and unreliable allies, creating moral dilemmas and policy inconsistencies, says Indyk. "The next administration will not enjoy the luxury of staying above the fray and demanding that local actors read from America's script."

Despite the challenges, Indyk and Wittes say not to remain engaged would have profound consequences for America's security interests at home and across the globe.

A full version of Indyk and Wittes's proposal, as well as supporting background material, is available at Opportunity08 by clicking HERE.