Trump’s reluctance to bomb foreign countries is a strength, not a sign of weakness

Today the United States has one single overriding interest in the Middle East. That is the restoration of stability. No amount of what the Pentagon euphemistically refers to as kinetic action will stabilize the region. This is a task for creative diplomacy — not for more war, but less.

In his State of the Union Address earlier this year, Trump himself, of all people, stated the matter with rare and commendable clarity. “Great nations,” he declared, “do not fight endless wars.” No doubt Kennan himself would have endorsed the sentiment.

Yet a sentiment is not necessarily a principle or a doctrine. Whether Trump possesses the tenacity or the attention span to initiate a resolute and courageous liquidation of America’s unsound position in the Persian Gulf will seem unlikely to many. Yet should he do so, Americans may yet owe this commander-in-chief a measure of gratitude. And by ignoring those who call for yet more war, he just might begin the process of repairing the damage done of late to this nation’s credibility.