Includes bibliographical references (p. [555]-565) and index.

Overview of the Middle East -- A historically important region -- The Arab-Israeli Conflict -- The Persian Gulf -- Origins of the conflict -- The British mandate -- Partition of Palestine -- Early Arab-Israeli relations -- The 1956 Suez crisis and war -- Arab rivalries -- The June 1967 war -- The October 1973 war -- Role of the PLO -- Camp David Accords -- The Israeli invasions of Lebanon -- Diplomacy, 1982-1987 -- The Intifada, 1987-1991 -- The U.S.-PLO dialogue -- Seeds of agreement -- Post-OSLO -- Camp David and the al-Aqsa Intifada -- U.S. policy in the Middle East -- U.S. foreign policy formation -- The Executive Branch -- Congress -- The public and foreign policy -- U.S. Middle East policy -- The Persian Gulf -- The Iran-Iraq rivalry -- The Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988 -- The Persian Gulf crisis, 1990-1991 -- Persian Gulf War, 1991 -- Containing Iraq -- The Iraq War, 2003 -- Postwar developments -- Islamic extremism and terrorism -- Iran, Pakistan, and the "Islamic bomb" -- Gulf Cooperation Council -- Middle Eastern oil and gas -- History -- Prices plummet -- The Persian Gulf Crisis and war -- Oil in the twenty-first century -- Natural gas -- Fifteen centuries of Islam -- Unity and diversity -- Islam and the West -- Arabia : birthplace of the Muslim community -- Foundations of Islamic faith and practice -- Islam today -- The struggle in Islam -- Country profiles -- Egypt -- Iran -- Iraq -- Israel -- Jordan -- Kuwait -- Lebanon -- Libya -- Persian gulf states -- Saudi Arabia -- Syria -- Yemen -- Appendix -- Chronology of major events, 1900-1944 -- Chronology of major events, 1944-present.