The central point in our relationship with the Middle East is being successful in balancing all of our goals in the area are. We have made progress in creating peace ... and have shown that we are willing to commit troops and sacrifice our own blood in the interest of stability in the region.

The Israelis have been very serious in wanting diplomacy to succeed. They've been urgently trying to get us to get diplomacy working. The problem is, at some point they're going to say, 'The clock has run out, and we have to think of something else.

The Middle East now has in windfall profits the capability of becoming the research and development stimulator.