It's easy to think that George W. Bush is the first president to believe that America should have a role in transforming the Muslim Middle East or that 60 years ago Harry S Truman was original in making the establishment of a Jewish state an American objective. But the roots of those actions are as old as the US 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. We look at the origins of America's interest in the Middle Eat 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?
KCRW
