How Washington is doing on such issues as winding down military involvement, fighting terrorism and reducing our dependence on its oil.
Think the United States is fairing badly in the Middle East? Convinced that our policy is chaotic, confused and contradictory, from North Africa to the Persian Gulf?
Think again. It may not be politically correct to admit it, but when it comes to furthering America's core national interests, Washington isn't doing badly at all. And here's why.
Defining U.S. national interests is a critically important task, and not enough attention is paid to it. If you don't know where you're going, the old saw goes, any road will get you there. And we've seen the consequences of that in Afghanistan and Iraq.
America's interests in the Middle East have changed over the years. But in 2013, in addition to ensuring the security of Israel, the U.S. has five vital ones and a couple that are less so. Here's the report card on them:
Getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan early: A-
The two longest and among the most profitless in U.S. history, these two wars have claimed more than 6,000 U.S. dead; tens of thousands wounded, many grievously; billions of dollars expended; and shattered credibility from one end of the Middle East to the other. The process of extrication isn't pretty, nor is what America will leave behind. But leaving is crucial. Considering what the U.S. sacrificed and what we've gotten in return, we stayed far longer than necessary.
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