In 2009, Barack Obama gave a speech at Cairo University in which he acknowledged that the Iraq War had damaged America’s image and interests in the Middle East. He made it clear that America had no quarrel with mainstream Islam, but that we would resist extremists, and that we were entitled to help from the locals. He also indicated that America was willing to talk to Iran. In general, the speech was well-received in the Islamic world.
Yesterday, Mike Pompeo made a speech in which he attempted to repudiate everything Obama had said in 2009. Pompeo’s position is that, by definition, American interventions in the Middle East are always good, because America itself is good, which presumably means that the Iraq War was a rip-roaring success. Sunni autocrats are also a force for good; human rights issues in the countries they rule don’t matter. All of the evil in the region is attributable to Iran, including, counter-intuitively, the impacts of the Sunni extremists in IS. America will consequently resist Iranian attempts to expand its influence anytime, anywhere.
Today, we learned that American troops are already starting to leave Syria. Trump has also made it clear in the past that Iraq was a mistake. I guess someone didn’t get the memo.
None of this makes any sense at all. If you can figure it out, you’re smarter than I am.