Reports of American Decline in the Middle East are Greatly Exaggerated by Hussein Ibish, The National.
…But the Middle East remains the central focus of American foreign policy. Whatever "pivot" may have been anticipated has yet to be implemented. For now, the US remains focused on Iran, is moving towards a deeper engagement in Syria, and has strongly recommitted to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
American Middle East policy sometimes looks confused, because the challenges are so severe while its options are limited. Indeed, this may have made the Asian "pivot" idea so attractive. But, for now, there is clearly no escaping the centrality of the Middle East…