By creating a Shi‘a Iraq, Bush has superseded the Arab-Israeli balance of power with the Sunni-Shi‘a balance of power, to America’s ultimate advantage.
Russia’s commitment to a non-nuclear Iran is less sincere than it claims.
With the states, factions and sects of the Islamic world trembling on the edge of a chasm of massive military conflict, a Concert of the Greater Middle East—in the spirit of the Concert of Europe—is needed.
The U.S. must be prepared to commit to a long-term strategy of engaging the Middle East on religious terms by helping anti-Islamists in the Muslim community who seek to reconcile their religious faith with modernity.
From the standpoint of American interests, the current geopolitical state of affairs in the world's principal energy-rich zone leaves much to be desired.