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Focuses on anti-Americanism in Arab and Muslim countries in the Middle East, including Pakistan. Idea that terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 were in retribution for U.S. policies; Opinion that a mood of resentment toward the U.S. and its behavior around the world could breed hostility and hatred; Topic of how relations between the U.S. and Israel are viewed in the Middle East.

Discusses speculation concerning the parties responsible for terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and on the Pentagon building in Virginia. Speculation that Osama bin Laden is responsible for the attacks; Relations between the United States and the Middle East; Questions concerning the role of the Al-Qaeda group in the attacks; Relationship of bin Laden with the Taliban movement in Afghanistan.

Reports on the efforts of Russia to reassert its role in the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East. Efforts of Russian president Vladimir Putin to intervene in the Arab-Israeli conflict; Failed attempt of the United States to produce peace in the area; Outlook for the situation.

Reports on cartographic disputes between Israel and Lebanon following the former's withdrawal of its troops from the southern region of the latter.

Reports on the intentions of Turkey to sell excess water to nearby countries. Discussion of the importance of water in Israel, Jordan and Syria, and how this will affect the Middle Eastern peace process.

Reports on the meeting between United States President Bill Clinton and Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad in Amman, Jordan, in an effort to commence peace talks between Syria and Israel.

Focuses on Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Islamic guerrilla force Hizbullah, and the threat he poses to Arab-Israeli peace negotiations. His alleged ties to anti-American and other terrorist acts; Possibility that the Hizbullah is planning more violence in the future; Nasrallah's claims that Hizbullah violence is not terrorism but a religious war against Israeli oppressors.

Discusses issues surrounding the reaction of Iraq's delegation at an Arab League foreign ministers' meeting in January 1999. Indications of a new degree of Iraqi isolation in the Arab world; When United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will visit Egypt and then Saudi Arabia; The firing of missiles in both the northern and southern Iraq no-fly zones, according to the US Pentagon.

Focuses on the response of Arabs to the United States' military strikes against Iraq. Riots and protests that have erupted in the Middle East; US President Bill Clinton's journey to Palestinian territories; How some of the anger over US bombing of Iraq stems from domestic problems; How Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein portrayed the strikes.

Reports that United States President Bill Clinton has signed a far-reaching American guarantee of Israeli security that stops just short of a defense treaty as of November 5, 1998. Details of the deal signed separately by Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; How Israel's traditional policy of military self reliance may no longer be sufficient to protect it; Potential threats from Iran; The United States' current military involvement in the region.

Reports on the effects of the cruise missile air strikes by the United States in the Middle East in August, 1998. Questions of the role of the US in combating terrorism; The issue of the air strikes as a terrorist response to a terrorist act; Roots of the conflict; Historic observations on Middle East terrorism.

Examines succession issues in the violent Middle East in the late 1990s. How democratic movements are impacting several traditionally autocratic nations; Concerns about the ability of Crown Prince Hassan as King Hussein's successor in Jordan; Health concerns about several leaders including Palestinian Yasser Arafat, Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, Syria's President Hafez al-Assad and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak; Questions about succession in Iraq if Saddam Hussein is killed or removed from power.

Details how oil has torn at the Middle East's social fabric in such a way that many in wealthy countries have adopted a more materialistic lifestyle. How oil has been a key factor in determining which countries lead the Arab world; Egypt's role in the peace process in the Arab countries; How people have left their homelands to chance after better jobs in the oil-rich states; How some see the wealth as an opportunity to restore some balance.

Details the issue of water shortages in the Middle East. How Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak will have to address the issue of water when restarting peace with Syria; History of water shortages and the use of water as a weapon; Problem that Jordan lacks both water and cash; Efforts of the United States Agency for International Development to rehabilitate the water infrastructure; How Turkey's massive Southeast Anatolian Development Project is designed to bring electricity and water to the southeast.

States that militant Palestinian groups are not eager for Syria and Israel's government to renew peace talks. How Israel launched airstrikes against civilian targets in Lebanon; Comments of George Habash, head of the Marxist-Leninist Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP); Terrorist groups in the Middle East, including the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which is lead by Naif Hawatmeh.

Reports on the spread of ballistic missiles in the Middle East. Intelligence leaks suggesting Iran will have a missile able to hit Israel, due to help from Russia; `Arrow,' an antimissile joint project of Israel and the United States; The political trickiness of Russia's complicity in the region's build-up of arms; North Korea's No Dong missile projects with Iran; Syria's first-strike capacity; Israel's reliance on deterence; Comments; Forecasts.

Examines the impact that the 1996 Grapes of Wrath offensive by Israel in southern Lebanon has had on the region. Rebuilding after the attack; Comments from Mohammed Jafar, a Lebanese liaison working with United Nations troops in 1997; How the attack provoked calls for resistance against anything deemed to be Israeli aggression and Zionism; How Arabs reacted to the United States response to the attack; Support for Hizbullah in Lebanon, the target of the attack.

Reports on the increasing popularity of Syrian television in the Middle East in 1997. Comments from director Hani al-Roumani; How far the preference for Syrian television stretches; Why Syrian television is in demand; Stars like Jihad Saad and Selma Masri; The competition between Syrian and Egyptian television.

Reports on the aftershocks of US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's trip to the Middle East. Efforts to restore mutual trust between Mideast peace partners; Peace between Syria and Lebanon and Israel; The role the Lebanon will play in the peace process; Syria's tacit support for the Hizbullah guerrillas in Lebanon; How Arab leaders are viewing Albright's actions; Outlook for peace.

Focuses on Madeleine Albright's planned visit to the Middle East in September of 1997. The sense of hopelessness about peace in the region; The widespread desire for peace; Albright's plans to meet with high school students from Israel and Palestine; How terrorist attacks in Israel have affected Albright's plans; How she plans to deal with Palestinian anxiety about a perceived bias toward Israel from the United States.

Investigates the effect that tough Israeli retaliations against Palestinian terrorists is having on the peace process in the Middle East as of September of 1997. The role that Palestinian extremists are playing in preventing peace; The political aspects of terrorism; How Palestinians view Israel's tough retaliations; The belief that Israel's responses breed further terrorism; The international pressure that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is under. INSET: Hamas leader, hunted by Israel, says `Netanyahu is seeking war'..

Discusses the status of the Middle East peace process. The damage caused by three suicide bombs in Jerusalem; Questioning as to whether or not US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will visit the area; Reaction to the bombings.

Reveals that guerrilla warfare is the most likely course for the future of warfare in the Middle East because of the proliferation of ballistic, chemical and nuclear weapons. The vulnerability of most Mideast nations to low-tech guerrilla warfare; So-called proxy wars; How Mideast governments use proxy groups to advance their goals; Manipulation of Kurdish factions in Iraq by Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria; The attempts of the US to create a so-called Pax Americana; Outlook.

Relates information about the sale and trade of weapons in the Middle East after the Gulf War in 1991. The International Defense Exhibition, the largest arms bazaar in the world; How the Gulf War impacted the weapon-buyers in the Middle East; The role of US arms dealers; The Middle East as the most militarized region on earth; Attempts at creating guidelines for the arms trade; The competition to capture the market for weapons.

Reports on the presence of United States military forces in the Middle East. Number of US troops in the Middle East in 1997; Money spent annually by the US to maintain its presence; The impact of oil reserves; The importance of access to the Persian Gulf's 65 percent of the world's oil; US forces in Saudi Arabia; How the Arab governments feel about the presence of the US; The issue of sovereignty; Outlook.

Examines the efforts by Middle East countries to develop effective antimissile missiles. The growing number of ballistic missiles held by the Middle East; The unsatisfactory failure rate of antimissile missiles like the Patriot missile; Israel's development of the Arrow antimissile system; The belief that the best defense against a missile attack is deterrence; Outlook.

Discusses the impact that nuclear capabilities for Israel have on the power balance in the Middle East. Peace accords which Israel has signed; Details of the nuclear capabilities of Israel; The attempts to counter Israel's nuclear arsenal with chemical, biological and nuclear weapons; The tense relations between Israel and Syria, who is technically at war with the Jewish state; Israel's nuclear arsenal as a partial deterrent against its enemies.

Reports on the increasing reliance by countries in the Middle East on ballistic missiles as weapons of destruction. The tacit agreement to not fire ballistic missiles because of the fear of retaliation; The vulnerability of countries like Israel; Israel's quest for security; The arsenal which Israel has at its disposal; A breakdown of the arsenals for several countries; Syria; Iran; Egypt; Iraq; Saudi Arabia; Lebanon; Libya.

Discusses the prospect of peace in the Middle East in 1997. The millennia of unrest in the Middle East; The changing methods of destruction; The reasons for war; The impact of the Gulf War in 1991; The role of the United States; What the US is expected to be to the Middle East; The possibility that American soldiers will fight in the Middle East in the future; Money spent by the US in the Middle East.

Looks at the business links being forged in the Middle East regardless of the ethnic conflicts in the region. Comments from Oded Eran, Israel's deputy director for economic affairs; What is needed to attract investors to the Middle East; What worries investors about the region.

Comments on the United States troops in the Middle East in the spring of 1998. Number of troops in the region; Low morale of the troops; What commanders are doing to keep their troops focused; What the departure of US troops from the Middle East says to the rest of the world; US relations with Mideast countries and their impact on troop deployment.

Contends that the crisis between the United States and Iraq in 1998 over UN weapons inspections was seen by Arabs as a chance to reexamine the role that the US plays in the Middle East. Discontent with how the US treats the Mideast; Why President Clinton did not have support from Arab leaders for his proposed air strike; The anger many Arabs feel toward the US because it has not pressured Israel's Netanyahu to move toward peace. INSET: American threats + Arab impotence = Terrorism?.

Discusses the role that Jordan and other Arab nations will play in the probable military action against Iraq for its noncompliance with United Nations weapons inspectors. Changing attitudes about the stubborn stance of Iraq's Saddam Hussein; Why military actions could unite the Arab world against the United States; How Jordan will be affected by the military action; Its relations with both the US and Iraq; Outlook for diplomatic resolution.

Reports that the United States is reevaluating security measures in the Persian Gulf and throughout the Middle East in the aftermath of the bombing of US Air Force apartment block in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Requests for an extension of perimeter around the building; Internal opposition to the Saudi royal family and US presence among Islamic fundamentalists; Tightening of inspection checks.