The Decline Of U.S. Influence In The Middle East

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry departed from New Delhi on Friday. Credit Pool photo by Lucas Jackson

U.S. Struggles In Middle East, With Fewer Allies And Less Influence -- Arshad Mohammed, Reuters

(Reuters) - The U.S failure to secure a firm ceasefire in the Gaza Strip despite two weeks of intense diplomacy reflects new regional dynamics in which the world's most powerful actor has diminished influence and fewer allies.

When Secretary of State John Kerry left Washington on July 21 on a mission to try to halt the latest Israeli-Palestinian war, more than 400 Palestinians had been killed, mostly civilians, along with 20 Israelis, 18 of them soldiers.

Nearly two weeks later, after Kerry's extensive face-to-face diplomacy in Cairo, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Tel Aviv and Paris and scores of telephone calls, the death tolls have tripled, two ceasefires have collapsed and the violence rages.

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My Comment: A sobering assessment on the decline of U.S. influence in the region. Read it all.