“President Obama has thrown Israel under the bus”—Okay, we get it. The Republican candidates must move beyond repeating that mantra.

Wednesday and Thursday mark Egypt’s first post-Mubarak presidential elections. Sadly, what should be a purple-fingered moment brings some hope and much disappointment. Don’t get me wrong – Mubarak was a loathsome stooge, a petty and incompetent rentier tyrant who deserved what he got and more.

For the Obama administration, the entire effort on direct Israeli-Palestinian talks constitutes an enormous wasted opportunity and foreshadows a potential diplomatic and political embarrassment of considerable proportions.

The United States and its allies and partners must not only understand Iran’s regional strategy and influence but also develop a coherent strategy of their own with which to confront them. Considering the relative economic, political, and diplomatic power of the two sides, it is unacceptable for the United States and its allies to allow Iran even such progress as it has made in these realms.

The next president will be faced with this challenge: Will he or she pay reflexive obeisance to the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, or will the new president write his own narrative?

As we applaud steps forward and work to bolster the Israelis and the Palestinians, we should remember past missteps.

For the last seven years, the Oslo "peace" process has eclipsed all other regional priorities and blocked the formulation of any other regional strategies. A half-year ago, it seemed as if this process was on the verge of bringing about a number of peace treaties. Now, general fighting resembling...