Publication

On 28 September 2019, in an unannounced military exercise, Washington transferred the command and control center of its air operations in the Middle East from Al Udeid base in Qatar back to the US. This publication reflects on the implications of this drawdown, and contends that 1) the US is apparently steadily reducing its footprint in the Euro-Mediterranean region; 2) in response, other actors including China, the EU, Russia, Turkey and Iran seem likely to collectively step up burden-sharing for regional security; 3) internal strife in NATO may eventually pave way for the rise of an EU army, which may make the EU the more likely new security guarantor of the region than Iran, Russia or others, and more.