Trump goes back to basics in Middle East

IN the aftermath of the attacks on New York and Washington on Sept 11, 2001 by a terrorist group from the Middle East, American policymakers and intellectuals decided that it was time to transform US strategy in the Arab world.

The conventional wisdom among Big Think types in Washington, conservatives and liberals, was that American policy in the region - which was based on working together with the monarchs and autocrats in the Middle East to protect the status quo - was responsible for the rising anti-Americanism among Arabs and Muslims that took the form of terrorism displayed in 9/11.

Instead of aligning itself with the tyrants that were ruling much of the Arab world, the US should be supporting the aspirations of its people, and press the regimes there to embrace political and economic reforms. Democracy and free markets would provide legitimacy for the Middle Eastern governments and help them make the region more stable and prosperous. Young Arabs would then reject violence and choose peaceful means to win power and promote change.