In principle, the government policy of the USA in 2019 should be rated as successful, Schenker explained. However, from a US perspective, “of course” some challenges would remain.
His claim about Afghanistan is questionable however. A confidential trove of government documents published by The Washington Post revealed that senior US officials failed to tell the truth about the failure of the war in Afghanistan throughout the 18-year campaign
They were “hiding unmistakable evidence the war had become unwinnable”.
The documents show that the longest armed conflict in US history is going nowhere. The more than 2000 pages of previously unpublished interviews include quotes from people who played a direct role in the war, “from generals and diplomats to aid workers and Afghan officials”.
The Post was able to release of the documents under the Freedom of Information Act after a three-year legal battle.
Despite this failue, the US military has a lot of plans – from Afghanistan to the Indo-Pacific and military exercises are also planned in Europe, he said.
“This includes countering Iran’s continued influence in the region and worldwide,” said the US diplomat. “I know that in 2020, we’ll also be seeing an increase in US efforts to counter Russian meddling and Chinese extortion in the region”.
In October, United States Special Envoy for Iran, Brian Hook, announced in Washington that US hopes that China and Russia would support the UN Security Council’s prolongation of the arms embargo on Iran instead of vetoing it.
Hook also said that he and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed with Russia and China the prospects of promoting a more peaceful and stable Middle East. He mentioned threats such as the drone attack on Saudi oil equipment.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran increased after two large Saudi state oil fields were attacked by armed drones on September 14 of this year, temporarily stopping nearly half of the oil production in the Arab Kingdom. While the Yemeni Houthi rebels took responsibility for the attack, Washington accused Tehran. However, Iran denied any involvement in the attack.
The United Nations also could not confirm that the drones used to attack the Saudi oil facility actually came from Iran. This was stated by the UN Secretary General António Guterres earlier this month.
The United States recently approved additional deployment of US troops and other military forces near oil fields in the Middle East. The US government justified this move as a deterrent to the alleged Iranian threat.
Washington has repeatedly claimed that Tehran has an “aggressive policy” to destabilize the Middle East region. In this context, the United States asked other states to step up sanctions against Iran.
