Kuwait

If President Trump is serious about countering Iranian aggression and repairing the mess in the Middle East left by Obama and Bush, then steps must be taken across the region, otherwise Iran will assert political and economic dominance over the entire northern tier of the Middle East and become the Middle East’s Shi’ite superpower.

Kuwait is one of the freest nations in the Persian Gulf, as well as one of America’s best friends. Yet its “liberalish” governance, as one Kuwaiti colleague described it, ironically impedes the adoption of market-oriented economic reforms necessary for the country’s prosperity.

Kuwait is America’s best friend in the Persian Gulf. Some of the issues in the recent election for the National Assembly would be familiar to Americans: education, health, housing, jobs, and traffic. But perhaps the most divisive issue is the future of the country’s generous oil-based welfare state. 

American policy should be designed to serve the interests of Americans. Alliances should be a means to advance U.S. security, not a measure of international popularity a bit like accumulating “friends” on Facebook.