The U.S. Needs to Shift Focus from ISIS to Iran
Supporting the Kurds Would be a Start

Matthew RJ Brodsky joins Alan M. Noory, assistant professor at the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani in Erbil, Iraq and Muhammad al-Kassim, senior Middle East correspondent on i24News "The Rundown" with Calev Ben-David. They discuss the latest political developments in Kirkuk where Iraqi and Iranian proxy forces have pushed the Kurds out of the city. Brodsky suggests that the U.S. needs to change its focus in the Middle East that has up until now been solely fixed on defeating ISIS. It is blocking the creation and implementation of a wider strategy that would push back against Iran. The greatest strategic threat facing the U.S. from the Middle East is Iran and its nuclear program, not ISIS. The main problem today, however, isn't their nuclear program but their expansion throughout the region. Changes in the Middle East's power structure cannot easily be reversed, which means the clock is ticking. Where Iran gains ground, the U.S. should push back. That should include supporting allies such as the Kurds.