America edges back into the Middle East

During his 2016 US presidential campaign, candidate Donald Trump didn’t articulate a coherent Middle East policy. Although he regularly criticized former President Barack Obama’s policies in the region, including the Iran nuclear deal and US backing of Syrian rebels, Trump offered no clear vision of what he would do differently. But his administration’s stances on various challenges in the region are now starting to crystallize. While Trump’s approach to the Middle East certainly differs from his predecessor’s, Trump finds himself running into the same difficulties. In this erudite analysis, former Israeli diplomat Zvi Mazel surveys some of the challenges the current US administration faces in the Middle East.