Intro

What have we learned so far about Donald Trump’s approach to the Middle East in his second term?

In this Conversation, Eric Edelman, former ambassador to Turkey and Finland and Under Secretary of Defense,shares his perspective on the president’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. He presents a tour d’horizon of the highly dynamic and complex situation in the Middle East, not only covering the Gulf States butalso Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Israel. Edelman argues Trump has not been guided by any doctrine or coherent strategyin his foreign policy: “He really believes in transactionalism as a way of life.” The upshot sofar, per Edelman, has been “a very haphazard, incoherent policy in a very dangerous world."