Strategies of retrenchment: rethinking America’s commitments to the Middle East

Abstract

Beginning with the post-2003 Iraq War and accelerating with the Great Recession of 2007, many scholars and pundits have concluded that the United States is in a state of relative material decline and it is necessary to abandon its long-standing grand strategy of “deep engagement” and replace it with one of retrenchment, “a policy of retracting grand strategic commitments in response to decline in relative power.” This is necessary in order to balance America’s commitments with its declining resources. However, retrenchment is not a one-size-fits-all grand strategy; there are degrees, ranging from internal retrenchment, redistribution and redeployment, and complete withdrawal. This essay analyzes what each of these degrees of retrenchment would mean for America’s traditional interests in the Middle East: maintaining the flow of Persian Gulf oil, stemming the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the containment of Iran.