Paradoxically, U.S. capacity-building efforts infantilized rather than empowered our allies, especially the European and Arab states, creating a level of dependency that, at least until very recently, stifled independence. The Obama administration, like its predecessors, urged these countries to develop capacity but simultaneously signaled to them that America would ultimately defend them when they got into trouble.

The U.S. government often compounded this problem by demanding little accountability and results for actually developing combat effectiveness. Instead of linking U.S. military assistance to Arab states meeting certain benchmarks on readiness, inter-operability, logistics, and command and control improvements, the United States squandered leverage by treating these sales largely as commercial transactions. And by not offering incentives or imposing disincentives for poor performance, the United States violated the cardinal rule of how to stop free riding. Finally, the U.S. government often had overly ambitious goals and neglected a simple lesson: In dealing with corrupt and repressive governments and fragmented societies, all the money, training, and equipment in the world cannot buy the will to fight, military professionalism, leadership, and morale…

Most importantly, limited resources and capacities in a world of rising competitors means the United States has little choice but to run these risks. In most of the crises and conflicts the United States confronts in the greater Middle East, doing nothing is often not a politically viable option. At the same time, large-scale U.S. military intervention is neither politically feasible nor morally defensible and risks escalating the violence. But however expensive it is for the United States to train and equip foreign partners, it would be far more expensive to engage American forces directly. And the costs to America’s reputation, credibility, and prestige are greater when U.S. forces fail to achieve their mission than is the case when foreign partners fail.