ABSTRACT
Everything in the Middle East changed on September 11, 2001. But the more that things in the Middle East change, the more they stay the same.
There is a saying in the West that the Middle East is a region too important to the outside world to allow it to be governed by Middle Easterners. The Middle East has played a pivotal role in world affairs since ancient times. Forming the land bridge between Asia, Africa, and Europe, the Middle East has the strategic attention of both the East and the West (see Figure 8.1).
