One of the hallmarks of a presidential transition in the United States is a comprehensive policy review, aimed at determining which policies to retain and which to eliminate or change.

As President-elect Donald Trump moves towards taking office, he seems eager to make plenty of changes — some more positive than others.

Some US policies seem destined not even to receive their day in court.

The fate of the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement seems already to have been sealed, with Trump assuring the public that he would shelve that deal — concluded but not ratified by the US Senate — on his first day in office.

This is unfortunate, as the TPP would have revolutionised intellectual property rights and boosted transparency to unprecedented levels, while lowering tariff and non-tariff barriers.

But Trump seems unlikely to reverse course.

In another crucial policy area, however, change by the incoming Trump administration would be welcome: the Middle East.

The incremental approach to the region taken by the last two administrations, under George W. Bush and Barack Obama, has meant that the US has failed to keep pace with events.

Trump and his team must now think carefully about what has happened in the Middle East, and what to do about it.

This will require not just an investigation into region-wide challenges, such as Sunni radicalism, but also a careful consideration of bilateral policies. Start with the continued export of Sunni radicalism from the Arabian Peninsula, a complex issue that involves Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.

READ MORE HERE:      http://jordantimes.com/opinion/christopher-r-hill/trump-and-middle-east-cauldron

The writer, former US assistant secretary of state for East Asia, is dean of the Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, and the author of “Outpost”. ©Project Syndicate, 2016.www.project-syndicate.org