US reformulating its Middle East policy

The United States does not want to be a regional policeman; instead, it wants a new alliance to play that role. To give shape to this alliance, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently visited Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, starting on Jan 8. Emphasizing the purpose of his visit, Pompeo said Washington is working to build a strategic alliance in the Middle East that would include the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Egypt and Jordan.

Before that, on Dec 19, US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of troops from Syria, saying the US forces had achieved their goal of destroying the Islamic State group, leaving the US allies in the region perturbed, especially Saudi Arabia and the Kurds in Syria. He also gave the impression that the coming days would see an increase in Iranian-Russian influence in the region.

So Pompeo's visit to the Middle East was essentially an attempt to explain the dimensions of the new US policy and to reassure the US allies of its support.