Published in National Review by Congressman Michael Baumgartner (WA-5)

The Middle East helped shape my career long before I came to Congress. I studied there as a young man. Later, I served in Baghdad during the surge and embedded with an Afghan counter-narcotics team in Helmand. On my first trip abroad as a member of Congress this year, I returned to Iraq, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Some things have changed. Some haven’t. One lesson is clearer than ever: American leadership can’t be built on one-off deals or delusions of grand bargains. It takes showing up, keeping promises, and leveraging our partnerships.

In Iraq, the surge worked — but only to fix earlier mistakes. Disbanding the Iraqi army and mismanaging the occupation taught us the hard way that strategic clarity matters. In Afghanistan, I saw how poverty, corruption, and geography made grand plans for nation-building impossible. Both wars showed what happens when strategy outpaces reality: Our credibility erodes, our alliances fray, and the American people lose patience.

We can’t afford to forget the lessons of the past 20 years. The Iraq and Afghanistan lessons cost the lives of over 6,900 American service members and approximately $2 trillion in direct appropriations. The Middle East is still critical to our interests. China and Russia move in where we pull back. Iran’s proxies still target our ships and troops. ISIS and al-Qaeda wait for us to let down our guard. Meanwhile, Gulf states are growing economic powerhouses. If America steps away, others will fill the vacuum. Reliability in this region isn’t a slogan — it’s survival.

One place to start is fixing our Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system. As a member of the bipartisan FMS Task Force, I’ve seen partners like the UAE who pay up front wait years for critical equipment. It’s unacceptable. Modernizing FMS isn’t charity for allies — it’s about restoring American credibility as the security partner of choice.

Read the full article in the National Review.