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To Counter Tehran's Influence, Start with Iraq and Syria
(Wall Street Journal) Kenneth M. Pollack and Bilal Y. Saab - Without a U.S.-led initiative to limit Iran's regional sway, U.S. allies who perceive the acute Iranian threat will act on their own and escalate regional crises. The Iran policy the Trump administration rolled out last month is an important effort to forge a comprehensive strategy. It recognizes that merely curbing Tehran's nuclear ambitions won't end its aggressive behavior across the region. Syria and Iraq are the places to execute an Iran strategy effectively. Iran has gone all-in on Syria, and while it is winning, it is also badly overexposed. Washington could take advantage of this by ramping up covert assistance to Syrian rebels to try to bleed Damascus and its Iranian backer over time, the way the U.S. supported the Afghan mujahedeen against the Soviets in the 1980s. In Iraq, Tehran's dominance is far from complete. There are still many Iraqis, including Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who don't want to live under Iran's shadow. Helping them would mean a major U.S. investment after the defeat of ISIS to empower champions of political reconciliation. Mr. Pollack is a resident fellow of the American Enterprise Institute. Mr. Saab is director of the Defense and Security Program at the Middle East Institute.