Disarray in Middle East Imperils Obama's Policy Plans

… the state of disarray themes the unusual even for that nasty region … that all risk and peril and President Barack Obama is policy dreams … and leaving him with limited ability to control events joining us this cost is the Journal’s Washington D C bureau chief … Jerry side … Gerri thank you so much for joining us … happy be here so obviously they’re a lot of policies at the top of present Obama agenda which policies … specifically do these latest developments really put in danger … well look I think it puts the president an awkward position was happening the last few days … the day with regard to Iran … that on the one in the present is trying very hard John Kerry’s in Switzerland trying … very hard even as we speak to negotiated deals the Iranians to control their nuclear program … at the same time at the US is now aligned with Saudi Arabia try to stop … a drive by Iranian backed rebels into the rebels in Yemen to take over the country … at the same time it’s working with the Iranians are least implicitly work with the Iranians … to go after Islamic State forces in Iraq so it’s an extraordinarily complicated situation … but I think the real awkward problem at the moment is that … the US is up and try to work with Iran on nuclear weapons and … a nuclear weapons deal and working against Iran on this grounded in Yemen … and in the process a lot of traditional American allies sickly the Saudis the Egyptians and the Israelis … are very suspicious of how hard the US would push back against the Iranians is to try to expand their influence in places like Iran … because of the diplomacy strand also conduct … with the Iranians deny it over the nuclear deal so there’s a lot of anxiety uncertainty … and at the same time in the U S is conducting its its diplomacy without the kind supportive dish we had from traditional ally Saudi Arabia Egypt and Israel all of whom are a little bit suspicious of U S goals motorists right now so … the president finds himself up not really able to control events … and with fewer resources at its disposal as he tries to go about it in navigating these waters … I think it is resource that this all kinds well with US troops McGrath with boots on the ground there in the Middle East how’s that complicate things further with West direct support from the US … well Iraq is a good example of the problem area the US is trying to help the Iraqi government push back Islamic state forces protected from the city of decree … it doesn’t have that the boots on the ground as you say to do that’s trying to do it with their power and working with Iraqi groups and it was actually a silly work with Iranian militias and and and Iranian leaders to help the Iraqis do that that has been successful so far … to different situations you have … twenty thirty forty thousand American troops in Iraq the you could use it in that enterprise … so that C that makes the whole situation more difficult built on or an aunt another problem that has been dire need for the president which is that he had hoped that at this point … the storyline would be that the US was smoothly ending its top it’s the occupation in it’s it’s … it’s it’s exposure in Iraq … and was also moving out of the … country for cancer list of the most of its troops out of Afghanistan was dead … you have in the U S reassert itself with mid air power in Iraq … in the present also announcing this week he’s been leaves thousands of troops in Afghanistan longer than the hope that the and after the end of this year because the situation there is too unstable so … this is not this scenario the president fish and even a few months ago … interesting Terry thank you so much for joining us … sure happy be with you … and please Richard Reed More … juries work on devastate Akande and in tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal

(via WSJ)