Is Stephen Walt really behind Obama's Middle East policy?

Lee Smith has a new article on Tablet about how Stephen Walt (of Walt & Mearsheimer fame) is the true mastermind behind Obama's Middle East policy.

All you need to know about the bias of this ridiculous article is contained in the second paragraph:

"In the midst of widespread regional upheaval, the Obama Administration has seemingly abandoned longtime allies, like Israel and Saudi Arabia, while embracing traditional adversaries, like Iran. Few can make sense of the United States’ refusal to maintain what it had previously defined as core national interests in the region for nearly half a century, like peace in the eastern Mediterranean—an objective forsaken by the decision not to intervene in the Syrian civil war."

Let's see: Obama repeatedly defends Israel and stands up for them. He supports crippling sanctions that force Iran to the negotiating table and works hard to hammer out an agreement.

However, in the mind of Lee Smith, Obama has "abandoned" Israel and "embraced" Iran. All because he didn't obey the almighty Netanyahu's wagging finger to bomb Iran immediately.

Oh, and Obama has apparently also betrayed the Middle East by not defying overwhelming American public opinion and sending troops into Syria to get embroiled in another years-long quagmire.

After just that one paragraph, I take anything else Lee writes about Walt's influence on Obama with many grains of salt.