One way to deal with it might be to just tell the truth: the United States is over-extended, and its Middle East policy costs more than it’s worth; cut the denial and consider what practical steps we might take to improve the region on our way out. If we were waiting for the proper moment to undertake a thorough overhaul of U.S. policy in the Middle East, this is it.

Now is the time for a U.S. foreign policy overhaul