Opinion | Trump to Mideast: You’re on Your Own

A facts-only brief, written by a local AI model from this article in The Wall Street Journal, November 3, 2026. It may contain mistakes, and it is not the article: the full story is at wsj.com.

President Trump stated on Tuesday that he intends to terminate U.S. military aid to Israel by the end of the year, claiming a prior agreement with Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has publicly supported ending the assistance but proposed a ten-year phase-out. This decision is part of a broader strategic shift in U.S. Middle East policy, as described by Ambassador Thomas Barrack, who declared that the United States is no longer acting as a global security guarantor. Barrack indicated that the U.S. will instead support regional alliances, such as the Mecca Pact involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan, while rejecting direct military intervention against Houthi forces despite requests from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Background

• Barrack rejected regime change as a future U.S. objective, citing the failure of previous interventions, and characterized the Iranian government as a theocracy rather than an evil regime.
• The U.S. provided intelligence and targeting support to Saudi Arabia during Houthi attacks this summer but refused to engage in direct kinetic combat.
• Iranian strikes on U.S. bases this year resulted in at least 21 American deaths and significant infrastructure damage, prompting questions about the viability of maintaining regional military presence.
• The author argues that while a realistic foreign policy is necessary, U.S. officials should not cross the line into moral indifference regarding the repression of Iranian citizens.

Read the full article at wsj.com

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