The next president will unquestionably be asked by Saudi Arabia to proceed with the status quo, which means billions of dollars in more defense contracts and more shielding at the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council. A President Clinton or Trump, however, should resist these calls, pare back support, and ask themselves why U.S. military involvement in a sectarian civil war is in America’s national security interest or how it contributes to Washington’s counterterrorism goals against Al Qaeda in Yemen.

The world will change over the next four months, and some of these conflicts may very well change with the times. But if they don’t, the next commander-in-chief should be wise and prudent enough to resist the constant drumbeat from the peanut gallery about forcefully exhibiting American leadership. Leadership means being strong, but also being smart and knowing when not to make an already bad problem worse.

Daniel R. DePetris is an analyst at Wikistrat, Inc., a geostrategic consulting firm, and a freelance researcher. He has also written for CNN.com, Small Wars Journal and The Diplomat.

Image: A sailor directs an EA-6B Prowler aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis. Flickr/U.S. Navy