Since its founding in 1994, the Middle East Quarterly has become America's most authoritative journal of Middle Eastern affairs. Policymakers, opinion-makers, academics, and journalists turn first to the Quarterly, for in-depth analysis of the rapidly-changing landscape of the world's most volatile region. The Quarterly publishes groundbreaking studies, exclusive interviews, insightful commentary, and hard-hitting reviews that tackle the entire range of contemporary concerns — from politics to economics to culture, across a region that stretches from Morocco to Afghanistan. The Quarterly, founded by Daniel Pipes and edited by Efraim Karsh, appears in a print edition, and is available in full-text (except the current issue) on this website.

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SPRING 2013 • VOLUME 20: NUMBER 2

DENYING ISLAM'S ROLE IN TERROR

Editors' note: The Obama administration in large measure has ignored the threat of Islamism in its first term and is poised to do so again. Yet Islamism continues to penetrate the heart of America, and the Middle East has become even more Islamist through recent upheavals. Three articles in this issue focus on the ways the U.S. government endangers the country by turning a blind eye to these rising dangers. Daniel Pipes explains how officials deny the connection between Islam and terrorism; Teri Blumenfeld documents the denial in the FBI while David Rusin details the military's denial.

Daniel Pipes, Explaining the Denial
Acknowledging Islamism strengthens counterterror efforts

Teri Blumenfeld, Problems in the FBI
Fear compromises U.S. security

David J. Rusin, Problems in the U.S. Military
The armed forces refuse to name the Islamist enemy

ISRAEL IN THE WORLD

Efraim Inbar, Jerusalem's Decreasing Isolation
Israel's international standing is stronger than commonly assumed

P. R. Kumaraswamy, The Maturation of Indo-Israeli Ties
New Delhi moves toward a closer friendship with Israel

SAUDI ARABIA'S ATOMIC AMBITIONS

Naser al-Tamimi, Will Riyadh Get the Bomb?
The obstacles to Saudi nuclearization are considerable

Yoel Guzansky, Questioning Riyadh's Nuclear Rationale
Will the Saudis buy nuclear capabilities from China or Pakistan?

Eyal Zisser, Can Assad's Syria Survive Revolution?
The struggle for Syria could take a long time to unfold

Dawn Perlmutter, The Politics of Muslim Magic
Magical practices wield political power in the Islamic world

DATELINE: Hilal Khashan, Hezbollah's Plans for Lebanon
The specter of a Sunni resurgence in Syria haunts the Shiite group

REVIEWS

REVIEW ESSAY: Ali Alfoneh, What the Iran-Iraq War Can Teach U.S. Officials
Tehran's need for an external enemy to prop up the regime

Brief Reviews
Israeli counterterrorism ... Qatar ... A Muslim mystic ... Western Sahara