Today, the U.S. has less leverage in the region than ever before. At talks last month in Istanbul, Turkey, Iran showed the U.S. and its allies that it will remain defiant on its nuclear program in the face of tough sanctions.  Lebanon is in the throes of a dangerous game of brinksmanship that threatens to send the country back into civil war after Hezbollah, supported by Syria and Iran, brought down the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and installed billionaire businessman Najib Mikati as its choice for the job.  In Yemen, a strongman president has been ejected, but he was also key to U.S. anti-terror efforts in the country that harbors an active and threatening subset of al Qaeda.  Reform in the Middle East was an important item at the outset for the Obama administration. President Obama received international goodwill upon taking office, for simply not being President George W. Bush. He flew to Cairo early in his tenure and gave a much-watched speech to offer a "new era" in U.S. relations with the Arab and Muslim world.  That was the high point.  Although it came into office hoping to seduce the region rather than fight it, the Obama administration has not delivered on the tantalizing promises it made since taking over, not only to show progress on solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but to encourage democratic reform. Change in the region comes not from his encouragement but from the disaffected taking matters into their own hands.  These dashed expectations Obama has created in the region are not just disappointing; they have hurt U.S. credibility in the region and have had diplomats and Middle East experts scratching their heads about just what Obama's vision for the region is.
There is an old joke in the Middle East that goes like this: One of Hosni Mubarak's advisers finally gets the courage to say, "Mr. President, maybe it's time to think about your farewell address to