as much as i hate talking about politics, i recommend reading this article. Written by phil greenspun, an MIT professor of Computer Science, its a pretty good look at some of the problems in the middle-east. apparently philg either does his homework or knows his history, as he cites several events and facts ive never heard of before.
most of all, he makes interesting connections between mid-east violence and othere seemingly non-related issues like Nazi Germany, Sprint telecom's executives, and Roman emperors. his work is always a good read and this is no exception. of course, it is laden with nice photographs (all taken by him, of course. he also happens to be a great photographer. what a jerk).
also, be sure to see his other political writings and those on many other topics. and be sure to visit (repeatedly) photo.net