ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Former Deputy Assistant to the US President and Senior Adviser for Energy and Investment Amos Hochstein called for a more rational US policy toward the Middle East, stating that the ongoing war with Iran has placed both Washington and the region at greater risk.
“I think we have to start having a much more rational policy towards the Middle East,” Hochstein, who served the position under Joe Biden, told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda on Tuesday, noting that “this war was hasty, ill-advised, and poorly executed, and has put America more at risk. But it's also put the region at more risk of violence and volatility.”
The remarks come days ahead of the US midterm elections scheduled for November 3. Recent national polling indicates that the Democratic Party holds an advantage over the Republican Party on the generic congressional ballot as American voters face rising living and fuel costs.
Global energy prices have surged following maritime restrictions and blockades in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of the global energy supply transits.
Shipping through the waterway has been severely disrupted since the US and Israel launched a war against Iran in late February.
Assessing the fallout of the conflict, Hochstein noted that “we can't undo what has been done” and emphasized that “we can't go back to the days before the war.”
He called on Washington to pursue a “diplomatic solution that gets us to end the war, to withdraw some of the offensive forces that we have, rebuild our relationships in the region,” and restore cross-border stability.
The former energy official added that the US must exercise leadership by building infrastructure, supporting the economic foundations of regional countries, and engaging in resolving smaller local disputes so conflicts are less likely to erupt.
