“Previous administrations pursued maximalist aims that rebounded against US interests leading to ‘hard lessons learnt’… the current US administration is focused on ‘the basics of building, maintaining and strengthening our partnerships and alliances here,’ describing those alliances as a ‘unique comparative advantage.'”  

–Brett McGurk, White House co-ordinator for the Middle East and North Africa who also served in the Bush, Obama and Trump administrations, comments on evolving U.S. Middle East policy. [The National]