I caught this in the paper today and found it interesting. Needless to say its hard to boil down centuries of conflict and politics of a region into a simple map, but if you're confused by the dynamic in the mideast (and I don't blame you) then check it out.
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2006/07/23/weekinreview/20060723_MIDEAST_GRAPHIC.html As far as the second map...can you say blowback?
