Because the United States can singlehandedly or with impromptu coalitions defeat any plausible challenger to regional hegemony anywhere outside Asia and Europe, it should seek to avoid, reduce, or eliminate costly or demanding commitments in other parts of the world, including the Middle East, so that it can concentrate on the most demanding theater. It should therefore scale down its commitments in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. That said, the United States can still seek to form or sustain more limited partnerships in these secondary regions, in part to reduce its own exposure and demands on
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