Since the oil embargo of 73-74[0], which was caused by the 'Arab-Israeli War', securing the oil supply from the Middle East has been a top priority of the US government. The embargo highlighted how vulnerable the US was to the Middle East. Since then, 'Peace in the Middle East' has been a plum goal of successive US administrations. President Carter was able to get a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt[1] which contributed to his ultimately winning a Nobel prize[2].

Succeeding administrations failed to gain additional peace and instead leaned on regime change in an attempt to oust unstable governments and seat US-friendly, stable regimes. This approach failed in principle: Regime change itself did not lead to stability. But instead, led to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and ultimately, it was the protracted presence of US troops in those nations that provided stability. That stability was paid for with the lives of US soldiers put in harms way of militants from both within those nations and from outside of them.

Under Obama, two threats emerged: ISIS and an emboldened Iran. ISIS went from a 'JV Team', to controlling an area the size of Pennsylvania, spanning Iraq and Syria[3]. Iran was granted an agreement to suspend weapons-grade nuclear research until 2031 [4]. Iran may or may not be complying with the agreement, but it was known that they were causing instability throughout the Middle East, funding ISIS, Hezbolah, and planning and funding ambush attacks on US troops throughout the region[5].

This was the situation in January 2017.

Reviewing what the current administration has done since taking office, the coordinated and deliberate steps, and the results, have been astonishing, given the intractable and largely unsuccessful efforts to stabilize the region over the last 50 years:

a. Established 'energy independence' by modifying US regulations on production of oil, natural gas and coal. The US became a net exporter of energy, reducing the leverage that the Middle East states have over the US[6].

b. Moved the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and recognize the Golan Heights as Sovereign Israel territory. This worked to gain trust from Israel, improving their willingness to participate in peace agreements. [8]

c. Coordinated with Russia to eliminate ISIS. It was completely eradicated, including US Special Forces killing the leader and founder, Al-Baghdadi[10].

d. Withdrew from the Iran Nuclear accord, and renewed sanctions against Iran. The funds provided by the accord likely were used in part to fund their terror activities.

e. Killed General Soleimani, who was know to be the mastermind and source of funding for terrorism throughout the Middle East, directed not just at US, but other Arab States as well. [7] d. and e. illustrated to the Arab States that the US was willing to take decisive action to quell the regional threat that Iran posed.

f. Withdrew troops from Syria, extricating the US from that war zone, after ISIS was defeated.

g. Begin withdrawing troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Most Arab countries want the US out so they can self-govern again.

h. With the above puzzle pieces in place, the administration rapidly concluded peace agreements between Israel and three Arab states: United Arab Emirates, Bahrain [9] and later, Sudan. Other countries are said to be joining soon.

i. Earned 2 Nobel peace prize nominations for the peace agreements (for 2021, winners will be announced next September).

Reviewing this timeline, and the magnitude of this achievement, it's hard to square the approach and its success against the claims of ineptitude leveled.

[0] https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/oil-embargo

[1] https://www.history.com/news/jimmy-carter-camp-david-accords...

[2] https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2002/carter/facts/

[3] https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-years-jv-team-inte...

[4] https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/122460/full-text-of-t...

[5] https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2...

[6] http://tiny.cc/oilexport

[7] http://tiny.cc/defang

[8] http://tiny.cc/Embassy

[9] http://tiny.cc/mideastpeace

[10] https://www.njhomelandsecurity.gov/analysis/tag/Abu+Bakr+al-...