I beleive that W understood from the beginning that no peace in the ME was possible as long as Arafat and Saddam were still players. Removing them has changed the geometry altogether. W immediately isolated both and was instrumental in both of their departures.
Furthermore, I beleive that w/o 9/11 W would never have done any of these things. It was only the security threat posed by a virulent islamism that forced action.
One may argue underlying strategies infinitum, but W's actions have brought us to a threshold where peace w/ Isreal and stable oil markets are not mutually exclusive. This outcome would not have been possible w/o W's determination and courage in the face of negative world opinion nor, and this is the key, w/o the steadfastness of the American public that gave W a rousing vote of confidence even in the darkest days of the Iraqi "quagmaire".
It is the US public, ultimately, that should receive the most credit for the hoped for realignment in the ME because unlike Spain and the EU, we have not flinched from the face of evil. Nor will we.
This was a great article.
As has been exploited by the Democrats and their co-liberals in the media, these things were in the works before 911. 911 simply made the timetable more urgent, and gave public voice in support so that the Dems weren't able to undermine it before it began.