Ben Smith notes that national security advisor Jim Jones, speaking at the J Street conference last week, called the Middle East conflict "the epicenter" of U.S. foreign policy problems around the world.
It's worth noting that one of Obama's senior advisors on Jones' NSC, Iran point man Dennis Ross, completely disagrees with the notion of "linkage." Ross thinks it's more important to deal with Iran first. Which may be an illustration of why Obama's foreign policy in the region feels a little muddled.