America Must Lead in the Middle East with Strength, Not Slogans

America Must Lead in the Middle East with Strength, Not Slogans

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.

We also have a rare window of leverage over Iran. Its economy is in free fall. Its proxies are weakened. Its air defenses have been exposed. But Tehran’s strategy is clear: delay, drag out negotiations, and wait for U.S. resolve to fade. The administration should not let this moment slip. Our position must be resolute — and push for the full dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Delay and ambiguity invite danger. I am introducing legislation to set clear goals and clear consequences to restore deterrence.

Strengthening deterrence also means enforcing sanctions with discipline. That’s why I introduced the No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act, a bipartisan bill to apply sanctions on regimes like Iran that unlawfully detain Americans as bargaining chips. Hostage-taking must carry costs, not rewards.

At the same time, we need stronger cooperation with our European and Middle Eastern allies. That means setting clear expectations on ballistic missiles, deepening missile defense cooperation, targeting terror financing, and pushing for broader diplomatic normalization with Israel.

Any new approach to Iran must be fully briefed to Congress. Any deal that touches on regional security guarantees or use of force needs congressional oversight and unambiguous authorization. Congress must ensure that our budget reflects these priorities, preserving operations that disrupt Iranian arms transfers and funding the diplomacy and security programs we rely on.

America’s future in the Middle East won’t be decided by one negotiation or one arms sale. It will be decided by whether we show up, follow through, and leverage our partnerships. Congress has a vital role to play in defining that purpose — and in making sure America leads with strength, not slogans.

This op-ed was originally published in the National Review.