Personally, George, I would LOVE to see the US turn the Middle East into green glass.  The only point upon which I disagree with you is Israel.

I believe that the only thing that has saved our bacon so far is our alliance with Israel.  Call me a right-wing religious kook if you must, but I seem to remember the Bible mentioning a promise from God to Abram (Abraham) that goes like this:

"...And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
    And I will bless him that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed..."

Genesis 12:2 & 3 (KJV)

Do you want to be on the wrong side of that?  I sure don't!

Only as long as the United States remains a strong ally of Israel is there any hope for our survival.  Will we dump Israel for a tank of gas?  God help us if we do (and you know He won't!)

Regards,
Scott Perry