Gulf allies have ‘lost confidence’ in the American ability to deter aggression in region

​News24 US Analyst Michael Ware believes America’s Gulf allies have lost confidence in its ability to deter aggression in the region. ​“Regional allies’ ability to rely on America to be so militarily strong that it deters the Iranians from doing anything that may erode peace and stability in the region certainly now does not exist,” Mr Ware told News24 Digital Presenter Gabriella Power. ​“What deterrence we did have has been significantly eroded, and we see evidence of that in events such as the tripartite pact [Mecca Joint Defence Agreement] between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, where they now have a mutual defence arrangement. ​“Why? Because none of them feels as confident as they did about the Americans protecting them as they did on February 27.”