USNI News highlights an Atlantic Council report authored by VP and Brent Scowcroft Center Director Barry Pavel and Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab on US military posture in the Persian Gulf:

A new report on what the United States should be doing militarily in the Persian Gulf recommends proposing a mutual defense treaty with U.S. partners there to deter adversaries, such as Iran with its nuclear ambitions and its use of proxies, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, to destabilize friendly nations in the region.

Speaking on Monday on the report titled “Artful Balance: Future U.S. Defense Strategy and Force Posture in the Gulf,” Barry Pavel, director of the Scowcroft Center at the Atlantic Council (and a report co-author), said the area “is not a region we can ignore” and “expect good things to happen.” Acknowledging that the report concentrates on defense strategy, he said American engagement “not just militarily, is essential,” but must remain robust into the future.

Bilal Saab, a senior fellow at the council and co-author, added in the past, “political development had not been a high priority” for the United States in the Middle East, but internally stable “partners can counter Iran” and improve counterterrorism efforts in the Gulf.

Read the full article here.

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