On the two-decade anniversary of the U.S. invasion, Iraq is weakly governed, leaving it prone to instability and meddling by neighbors—especially Iran.

There’s a single thread connecting the White House approach to the region, from Syria to Saudi Arabia.

The United States has dialed down both its presence and role in a region that it has dominated for nearly a half-century.

America is one country and two nations. They will have to coexist; whether they can work together remains to be seen.