I am the unusual political creature who is both unapologetically America First and firmly pro-Israel. As someone on the older edge of the millennial generation, it falls to people like me to bridge the realism of the MAGA movement with the strategic clarity of the postwar Republican tradition. These positions are not in conflict. Properly understood, they are aligned.
America is not a moral abstraction. It is a great power. We built a global architecture of alliances, bases, and forward presence for one purpose: to advance American interests. From the Pacific to Europe, our position in the world is not charity. It is leverage. It allows us to shape outcomes on favorable terms while minimizing the cost in American blood and treasure.
The Middle East follows the same logic. The United States operates from Al Udeid in Qatar, maintains the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and sustains a network of relationships across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, and Iraq. Yet most of these are not true alliances. They are arrangements of convenience. When pressure rises, these states hedge. Qatar shelters Hamas leadership. Others flirt with China and align themselves with alternative power centers. They accept American protection while preserving optionality. That is not partnership.