The key message from the assassination of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (who detonated a suicide vest attached to his body as US Delta Force commandos closed in on him), is that the American superpower is still far from disengaging from the Middle East.
To be sure, the US has come to terms with the ensuing power shift in northern Syria, triggered by its decision to withdraw from the Kurdish enclave and consequently improving Russia's standing in the area. The American operation in the Idlib area in northwestern Syria, meanwhile, is a clear signal that US President Donald Trump doesn't plan on diverting one inch from the strategic path he originally formulated upon entering the White House, predicated on the principle of isolated prevention and minimal military intervention, but finely focused on the core objectives.
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At the heart of these objectives is the uncompromising campaign against radical Islamist terror, whose main exporters today are Iran and ISIS. In the face of these challenges, the US administration continues to act determinedly and unbendingly. Indeed, alongside the daring Delta Force operation, the purpose of which was to send a strong message of intent and willingness to use force in Islamic State's primary stronghold, even as the US withdraws from the area, an American military force was deployed to eastern Syria to protect the oil fields there from terrorist attacks.
Additionally, at this very moment, the US is significantly enhancing its military presence in Saudi Arabia (including the deployment of advanced B1-B bombers and Patriot missile batteries). This is to signal to Tehran that the American hegemon opposing it has absolutely no intention of abandoning the Middle East in general, and the Persian Gulf in particular, to its aggressions. A year before the 2020 presidential election, and in the midst of a pitched battle against his Democratic adversaries in the House of Representatives, the White House wants to make it abundantly clear that it won't retreat unconditionally and unreservedly from the international stage and completely isolate itself on the American continent.
And yet, the use of the military whip in the future will continue to be measured and selective, to avoid embroiling the American people in another painful and destructive quagmire in a part of the world they generally view as minor from a national security perspective.
The words of the American president on Sunday, when he informed the public of the successful operation, clearly indicate his narrowing definition of the current battlefield. To be sure, what we have here is a complex global reality – aside from states and movements which function as breeding grounds for terrorists – enmity is relative and isolated, doesn't preclude cooperation, and perhaps even transactions with players such as Russia and Turkey, as we learned from Trump's words of thanks for the Kremlin and Ankara. Time will tell whether the foundations for a new world order, which began taking shape three years ago, are taking root.
