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http://www.wsj.com/articles/max-boot-obamas-mideast-realignment-1427324786

Obama’s Mideast Realignment

His new doctrine: Downgrade ties to Israel and the Saudis while letting Iran fill the vacuum left by U.S. retreat.

By

Max Boot

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Meeting the press at the White House, March 24. Photo: Olivier Douliery/Zuma Press

Let’s connect the dots.

Data point No. 1: President Obama withdrew U.S. forces from Iraq in 2011 and is preparing to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2016, even while keeping a few more troops there this year and next than originally planned.

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Further Reading

A man walks past a mural depicting supporters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), one of them raising a flag showing the face of Abdullah Ocalan -- founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) outlawed by Turkey, in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli on December 16, 2024. Syria's Kurds, who have faced discrimination for decades, reached out to the new rebel administration in Damascus, but the long-oppressed community fears losing the limited autonomy it has won in northeast Syria. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel vs. Turkey: The Intensifying Middle-East Power Struggle

Syrians wave \"revolutionary\" Syrian flags during a celebratory demonstration following the first Friday prayers since Bashar Assad's ouster, in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
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Assad Falls Thanks to a Weak Tehran

TOPSHOT - Syrian anti government fighters celebrate as they pour into the captured central-west city of Hama on December 6, 2024. In little over a week, the offensive by rebel forces has seen Syria's second city Aleppo and strategically located Hama fall from President Bashar al-Assad's control for the first time since the civil war began in 2011. (Photo by MUHAMMAD HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by MUHAMMAD HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)
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Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.