Obama’s Retrenchment–Protraction Doctrine: The Decline of the Middle East and the Rise of Asia and the Pacific

US foreign policy during the Obama presidency has been driven by the notion that the military foray into Iraq undermined America's standing in the world and threatened more fundamental economic and security interests brought on by contemporary globalization and the return to global multipolarity. Obama's initial goal was to complete the military withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan and to encourage Middle Eastern states to provide their own security and regional stability so the United States could rebalance or "pivot" to emerging markets and security challenges in Asia and the Pacific. America's struggle to understand the Sunni-Shia divide, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the low risk of terrorism, less reliance on Persian Gulf oil and increased US domestic production, economic significance of markets in Asia, and China's economic and military ambitions drove the Obama administration's effort to scale back from the Middle East and focus economic and military resources on the Asia-Pacific region. Although the Obama administration maintained some military forces in the Persian Gulf to prevent Iran from altering the geopolitical equilibrium, it set its sights on expanding US economic and security interests in Asia and the Pacific to contain and prevent China from altering the balance of power in the region--or even undermining the US-led international order. The administration was especially eager to contest China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea by conducting freedom-of-navigation operations; boosting American military power in support of its allies; and moving closer to Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia, and India. It also sought to increase trade and commercial interests with the Trans-Pacific Partnership to counter China's "One Belt, One Road" initiative and the Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank. However, the catastrophic civil war in Syria led to the rise of the Islamic State (IS), which rampaged across Syria and Iraq and forced the Obama administration to retake ownership of security in the Middle East. Russian military intervention on behalf of the Assad regime forced millions of civilians to flee to Turkey, Jordan, and European destinations, which empowered far-right-wing groups and politicians to spread their hatred of displaced persons, Muslims, and immigrants. Also, the United States participated in the NATO-led mission to topple Muammar Gaddafi in Libya but was unable to provide postwar security; launched airstrikes in Ira