The writer directs the Center on the US and Europe at the Brookings Institution
The war in the Middle East, now in week five, is getting worse. The US is readying ground troops, Iran is striking at US bases and other targets in Iraq and the Gulf, Israel is expanding its invasion of Lebanon and Yemen’s Houthis are firing at Israel. The oil price has surged past $100 per barrel. Which brings us to the depressing topic of Europe’s options.
The contortions of senior German officials illustrate just how painful that question is. Germany’s president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, (whose position is largely ceremonial) last week accused the US and Israel of violating international law — an assertion the government has carefully avoided. Berlin has in fact joined a group of 20-plus European, Gulf and Asian leaders gingerly offering to “contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage” through the Strait of Hormuz. European leaders had already made clear this would be after the end of hostilities.