Does Anyone Want to Replace the U.S. as the Great Power in the Middle East?

by Ellen Laipson*

published originally in World Politics Review http://worldpoliticsreview.com/
Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017

The United States has been the pre-eminent external actor in the Middle East since Egyptian President Anwar Sadat expelled his Soviet advisers and benefactors and turned to Washington in the 1970s. But America’s role is contracting, by design and by default. Russia and China insist they do not want to replace the U.S. in the Middle East, but they are still intent on expanding their regional influence.