Thanks for the ping jaz, and God Bless Thomas Sowell.
Anyone who wants to read one book that will help explain the international crises of our time should read "The Gathering Storm" by Winston Churchill. It is not about the Middle East or even about today. It is about the fatuous and irresponsible foreign policies of the 1930s that led to the most catastrophic war in human history. But you can recognize the same fecklessness today.
Chills. On a somewhat enforced rest last month I re-read that one along with Shirer's Berlin Diary. It was very disturbing reading.