Ed Husain is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He was an adviser to former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and is the author of several books, including “The Islamist.”
To Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
Soon, you will be traveling to the Middle East — a region where U.S. interests in energy, trade, security, artificial intelligence and countering China all converge. And your recent success in Panama sets expectations of more gains.
Today, President Donald Trump is widely respected among most Arabs, Israelis, Kurds and Turks — but not in Iran. And you will be charged with the difficult tasks of possibly making peace with Iran, between Israel and Palestine, and more.
You are also inheriting a State Department in desperate need of leadership and strength. When Arab leaders asked your predecessor Antony Blinken to get a grip on the Gaza conflict and end his tenure by banging heads together, he simply replied: “You know that’s not my style.” I even sat in a meeting where he referred to Hamas’ terror leader as “Mr. Sinwar.” But being nice and wanting to be liked has resulted in Gaza’s demolition, and in President Trump’s opening gambit, proposing to relocate its entire population.
After being sworn in, you spoke openly about faith, family and flag. During your confirmation hearing and time in the U.S. Senate, you showed mastery on the topic of Iran. These traits will win you more friends in the Middle East, but you must avoid the regional traps being laid for you. Your term is limited — your enemies can wait you out in Tehran, Gaza, Damascus, Yemen and elsewhere.
So, how to build a strategy that continues to deliver results even after you leave office? Who are America’s true friends and enemies?
Domestically, your intellectual challenge will be avoiding the “clash of civilization” myth of the American right. Conversely, you’ll face the incessant apologia from the left. China understands the tension between these two extremes in the U.S. It exports it for its anti-U.S. propaganda. Worryingly, there’s also a mood on the American right that’s anti-Jewish and anti-Israel. This will likely grow. But your actions abroad can dumbfound naysayers — here’s how:
First, don’t make the mistake of promoting democracy in the Middle East. Consolidating rule of law and a culture of greater individual liberty are more immediately important than democracy, which can come later if all goes well. In their absence, Islamist totalitarians take power and weaken U.S. interests (i.e. Iran, Algeria, Gaza, Egypt, Tunisia). Democracy promotion was a mistake of former President George W. Bush. Former President Joe Biden made the same error, guided by Samantha Power at the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Second, work with the laws of physics in the Middle East. Don’t seek to empower one party against another
