U.S. power in the world is undisputably eroding but not declining. The difference between erosion and decline is significant: a declining power is a power that is operationally incapable of structuring the international order and has virtually no chance of regaining its former position while an eroding power is a power whose relative influence has decreased but remains active and capable of shaping events. Multipolarity erodes U.S. supremacy because other actors are entering the global competition. Simultaneously, however, multipolarity creates huge opportunities for U.S. power because a region like Asia, for example, which benefits from the reallocation of power is by no means politically unified. The discrepancy between economic prosperity and strategic fragmentation in Asia has been comprehended by the Obama administration quite well. For example the rise of China, causes ASEAN countries to rely more on U.S. strategic pledges than in the past. A country like India sees in the development of its relationship with Washington an opportunity to softly balance China. U.S. power needs to rely on other actors to solve security issues because it is incapable of solving them alone but none of those problems can be solved without its approval. How does this apply to the Middle East?