You are of course right in your comments. Bush has been ne using a divide and conquer approach to the middle east ever since 9/11. Such a strategy has the greatest chance of success.
Unite our enemies so lots of us can die fighting them is not too bright... unless the suggester gets to watch while others fight and die. Covering fighting and dying is a good career move. Divide them and then overthrow them one at a time is a good political move for a leader... and that is the Bush policy. We have in effect subverted Pakistan and Afghanistan. That is 2 of the 10 Muslim nations. If we can do Iraq we will have made a major dent in problems we created.
We need to remember that both England and France wanted to retain the middle east as colonies after WWII. I submit the world would be a safer place if they had. It was the combined idealism of Truman and Eisenhower that allowed the rise of these rogue states. They had visions of middle eastern Deomocracy and other silly ideas. It was Jimmy Carter who helped in the resurection of Muslim exrtremists in Iran. That silly Jimmy carter act so applauded by our media, in many ways started us down this tragic and costly path we find ourselves on. We have a history of idealistically shooting ourselves in the foot.
But we can't undo the past. It seems to me the solution that works best is divide and conquer. Anyone who studied the rise of the Soviet Union will understand how client nations can be won by force that was expended to subdue othernations. Do it two or three times and rogue nations get the message.
Dictators don't like to be ex dictators. If get right with the USA or be an ex dictator is the choice, get right with the USA will win the day.
We need to take down one of the 4 bad nations. Then take down the second. That can likely effect the desired changes in the 3 and 4th nations without much effort on our part.
A sad fact that complecates the matter is the USA will not drill for its own oil. And if we took on all the Arabs and they cut off the oil, we would have to propel our fighter aircraft with rubber bands and row our supply ships to the middle east.
The only path that makes sense is divide and conquer. No one could truly believe that we could win a frontal attack war without middle eastern oil. Those who think we can are just not thinking.