Want to fire up a liberal? Dare to suggest that a nervous looking young Middle Eastern man standing in a TSA line to get on an airplane should be scrutinized.

Everyone should unconditionally accept that Israel is an indispensable element of the Middle Eastern mosaic.

He is terrifying to Middle Eastern elites. He is terrifying to Middle Eastern governments,

MOST OF THE NATIONS OF the Middle East can be divided into those with long histories and no oil, and those that have lots of oil and very little history. With a few notable exceptions, both groups share a common feature: they were cobbled together by outsiders. The borders of the modern Middle East were drawn by Europeans after the First World War with no regard for the interests or backgrounds of the people who inhabited it.

When I'm not at the keyboard, I'm generally reading, practicing tai chi or middle eastern dance, or cooking.

Turkey is a European country, an Asian country, a Middle Eastern country, Balkan country, Caucasian country, neighbor to Africa, Black Sea country, Caspian Sea, all these.