From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW, Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

America's new path in the Middle East.

Hello again, I'm Armin Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

Four years after the Bush

administration severed relations with Syria, Hillary Clinton said today, two U.S. diplomats will go to

Damascus. The Secretary of State is in Jerusalem after talking so passionately yesterday about

Israeli-Palestinian peace that Arab reporters applauded. Israel has not yet formed a new government after last month's

election. The Palestinians are divided between Hamas and Fatah. Can Syria have a role in the peace

process? What about Turkey? Will Iran respond to efforts to talk about its nuclear development?

On reporters' notebook later on, the Church of Rome and the Theory of Evolution. First,

here's the news. Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the

Public Radio International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John

D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Hello again, Warren Alney, back with To the Point. The Obama administration says it's cutting a new path toward Middle East peace. With Israel and the Palestinians both divided

among themselves, we'll hear about Hillary Clinton's first trip to the region,

as Secretary of State, about outreach to Syria, to Turkey, and even Iran. On reporters, notebooks on Protestants are

embracing creationism and intelligent design, but not the Vatican. We'll hear about this week's

conference on Charles Darwin and Evolution. First is news update. Britain's Prime Minister Gordon

Brown met today in the White House with President Obama. They began with routine business

reaffirming the special relationship.

Rest assured that the relationship is not only special and strong, but will only get stronger

...