6. Marriage is for life.
In 2011, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in this magazine that her administration would "pivot" the bulk of its strategic resources from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. To an American public tired of losing blood and treasure in Iraq and Afghanistan, the move seemed to make sense. But America cannot divorce the Middle East, try as it might. For all the talk of U.S. energy independence, the region remains the world's leading source of fossil fuels for the near future. And even if America becomes a domestic energy giant over the next few decades, it must still ensure the lucrative fuel deposits of the Persian Gulf don't fall into extremists' hands. Finally, for all the hopes of the "tide of war receding," the instability wrought by the Arab revolts -- and the rise of Islamists regionwide -- means the Mideast will almost certainly remain the world's leading exporter of terrorism for decades to come.
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