US President Barack Obama gave an extraordinary speech before the UN General Assembly on Sept. 24, one that illuminates the inner struggles of an administration that is being whipsawed by its varying and often contradictory impulses in the region. It is difficult to see who will be reassured by Obama's praiseworthy effort to offer the international community insight into the policy considerations that have produced chaotic, contradictory and frequently maddening policy outcomes across the tumultuous Middle East.
Obama makes the case for an energized US effort in the Middle East at the very moment when, more than at any time in the last seven decades, its power and commitment to the region are being challenged. He offered a skeptical and critical international audience less of an apologia for a string of controversial US actions than a reaffirmation of their essential validity.
