The U.S. should encourage rapprochement andreconciliation between the Sunni and Shia states ofthe Middle East.

In May, Middle Eastern leaders met with President Obama at Camp David for a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council. While many conservatives have criticized the summit as a failure for the lack of a U.S. commitment to Sunni states against the potential threat from Iran, Harry C. Blaney argues that these critiques are ideologically-driven and do not reflect the realities on the ground. He writes that what is now needed is a larger region-wide security framework for all countries in the region and continued efforts towards solving long-term conflicts.