David J LynchDavid Lerman: Mideast Allies Ask 'What’s Going On?' as U.S. Sells Iran Accord
Any doubt that U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has a tough job selling the Iran nuclear deal to Mideast allies was probably erased by an exasperated question from Jordan’s top military officer.
“Sometimes it’s difficult for us to know what the U.S. strategy is,” General Mashal al-Zaben told Carter in remarks overheard by reporters during a photo opportunity Wednesday evening in Amman. “What’s going on?”
Carter is traveling through the Middle East this week trying to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to traditional allies, including Israel and Saudi Arabia. His tour, however, only underscores the depth of discontent over an accord that is upending an already tumultuous region.
WNU Editor: America's allies in the Middle East have a very good idea on what the U.S. is doing .... that is why we are now seeing a major realignment of the political and military alliances that have dominated this region for the past 70 years. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states are looking for other allies, and have already made approaches to Russia as well as establishing military and defense procurement arrangements with European nations. In the wars and conflicts that are now spreading throughout the region, the U.S. has been relegated to a secondary role .... and is being viewed as unreliable and/or too slow. And then there is Israel .... who clearly feel left out and not listened to by the President Obama. I expect this trend to accelerate, and even if U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and U.S. Secretary of State Kerry travel to the Middle East each month .... it is not going to change what is essentially becoming a different Middle East that is more violent, more sectarian, and definitely not unconditionally pro-American.