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Source: http://www.jpost.com/USPresidentialrace/Article.aspx?id=290925
Obama Faces a Transformed Middle East
(Jerusalem Post) Herb Keinon - A lot has changed in the four years since Obama, soon after his inauguration in 2009, appointed George Mitchell as his Middle East envoy and set Palestinian-Israeli peace as his administration's top Middle East priority. First of all, today's Middle East looks nothing like it did then. With Syria imploding, Egypt going through a deep change, Iran continuing its relentless march toward nuclear arms and political Islam on the rise throughout the region, reaching a Palestinian-Israeli agreement does not hold the same urgency. A host of other issues in the region are more pressing. In his victory speech, Obama made almost no mention of foreign affairs, concentrating instead on domestic issues. For him to successfully push his domestic agenda, he is still going to need political allies, even during a second term. Even if he wanted to do so, and few think he actually does, he would not be able to ignore the massive support for Israel that remains in Congress. Doing so could make it difficult for him to push forward his domestic priorities.