Why Iran is stronger, Israel more vulnerable, and the US needs to engage more in the Mideast

As the Gaza conflict enters its eighth month, Iran stands out as the one country that has succeeded in projecting further as a result.

Israel is more vulnerable than it’s ever been and the United States must engage more smartly in the Middle East to protect its interests, argues Steven Cook, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of “The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East.”