Steven A. Cook is a columnist at Foreign Policy and the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. His latest book is The End of Ambition: America’s Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan emerges from the voting booth before casting his vote in the countries parliamentary and presidential election on June 24, 2018 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Donald Trump listens while Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi makes a statement to the press in the Oval Office before a meeting on April 3, 2017 in Washington. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech next to a model dinosaur during the opening ceremony of the Wonderland Eurasia theme park in Ankara on March 20, 2019. (Adem Altan/AFP/Getty Images)
Students demonstrate in Algiers, Algeria on March 12, 2019, one day after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his withdrawal from a bid to win another term in office. (Ryad Kramdi/AFP/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greet members of the U.S. military during a stop at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, on Dec. 27, 2018. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump salutes while joined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a military carry team moves the transfer case containing the remains of Scott A. Wirtz during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base, Jan. 19, 2019 in Dover, Delaware. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Enes Kanter heads for the net as Cristiano Felicio of the Chicago Bulls defends at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 5, 2018 in New York City. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Druze men at the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights flash the V for victory sign as they look out across the southwestern Syrian province of Quneitra on July 7, 2018. (Jalaa Marey/AFP/Getty Images)
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a military ceremony at the Hotel des Invalides in Paris on Oct. 24, 2017. CHARLES PLATIAU (Charles Platiau/AFP/Getty Images)
A protester wears a mask depicting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman outside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 25. (Yasin Akgul/AFP/Getty Images)
Omani Leader Sultan Qaboos bin Said addresses the annual session of the Council of Oman in Muscat on Nov. 12, 2012. (Mohammed Mahjoud/AFP/Getty Images)
