For much of the past six years or so, U.S. policy in the Middle East has had a "Godfather III" problem, with the recent (and strangely ignored) news that the war in Afghanistan won't be ending in 2014 after all as just the latest example. After a decade-plus of invasions and occupations, an American military presence in this, the most volatile region of the globe, has become a given — like overcast skies in England or earthquakes in Japan.