China is outfoxing the US in the battle for Mideast influence

Washington talks about “influence” as though it were a mystical vapor that leaks out of every military base closure. But Beijing’s rapidly growing clout in the Middle East shows that influence can come in many forms.While the Pentagon debates whether and where to rebuild U.S. bases battered by Iran during Operation Epic Fury, China has spent the last decade expanding its influence in the Middle East without stationing a single soldier there. China’s experience in the region makes clear that influence can be cultivated far more cheaply than Washington assumes, and without maintaining a sprawlin