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

The Arabs, the Jews, and American history.

Hello again, I'm Mormon-Aulny, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International,

a daily look at the issues Americans care about most.

The U.S. recognized a Jewish state just 60 years ago, and it's the current president who says he is spreading democracy in the Muslim Middle East.

But the roots of those actions are as old as the American nation itself.

The early Puritans dreamed of restoring the Jews to Palestine, so did Abraham Lincoln.

John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington insisted that Muslims should change their principles and ideals.

On to the point, we'll look at the origins of America's interest in the Middle East

and how 21st century policies have been shaped by the past.

What does history tell us about the likelihood of disengagement from that troubled region at any

time in the future?

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. I'll Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine

T. McArthur Foundation. Hello again, Warren. I'll be back with To the Point. American support

for the Jewish return to Palestine and the urge to transform the Muslim Middle East, go back

to the Pilgrims and the Founding Fathers. On To the Point, we'll hear how current American policies

and actions have been shaped by the past and what history suggests about future U.S. involvement in a troubled region.

First, this news update, 16 U.S. spy agencies have produced the latest national security estimate, or N.I.E, on Iraq.

An unclassified summary was released today in the midst of debate in Congress over the

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