America has reduced its involvement, having withdrawn its troops from Iraq and winding down its engagement in Afghanistan by next year. At the same time, we are witnessing the dissolution of the old Middle East created by France and Britain after World War I, when Europe’s two great colonial powers created territorial mandates in Palestine, Syria (including present-day Lebanon), Transjordan, and Iraq.
经济发展还需要至少暂时解决主要地区冲突。过去十年中东地区发生了巨大的变化。从伊拉克撤军和明年撤离阿富汗使美国的力量有所削弱。同时，我们正在见证一战后英法缔造的中东格局的土崩瓦解，当时欧洲这两大殖民强国在巴勒斯坦、叙利亚（包括今天的黎巴嫩）、约旦河外和伊拉克都凭空创造出领土要求。