Truth is the middle east has been is a quagmire for a long long time. First and foremost initiated by French and British colonial interest who favored co-operative minorities to help them subdue the majority of the regions population. Then came the establishment of the state of Israel by traumatized European Jews looking for a save haven. Afterwards the economic interest of controlling  oil supply to the rest of the world by the US took over.  Finally the Republican administration under Bush fanned the smoldering amber of discontent into an outright red hot blaze by direct military intervention.  The sanctioning by the Obama administration of the Libyan caper and the tacit support of regime change in Syria was another one of those ill advised ventures. 
Hard to believe but there is still room to do things worse. But there is.