Foolishly, I read Madeleine Albright's The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs on the plane yesterday. What do you expect. She even has a section on Islam and the need to learn about Islam. She talked about holding an Iftar (she spelled it Iftaaaaar) at the US Department of State. You will learn certain things in the book, like: that Jamal `Abdun-Nasser "portrayed Islam as an enemy of progress."(p. 153)--can you imagine the popular Nasser ever saying something like that in real life? I bet that she read that in a book by an Israeli orientalist. She has some really brilliant insights on the Arab-Israeli conflict: "I wanted to grab the Palestinian and Isareli negotiators by the ears and try to knock some sense into them." (p. 141). She laments that Mahmoud Abbas "lacked a solid political base."(p. 138). When did that stop the US from installing puppets though? As for her views on women in Islam, she consulted with noted Middle East scholar...QUEEN NOOR (p. 116). When growing up, she said that she met AND liked a Pakistani friend of her father because (unlike others of his ilk?) he was "dignified, erudidate, and charming" (p. 111). She said that as secretary of state she ordered a policy name be changed because Americans did not like the word "foreign"; so foreign aid became known as "national security support." (p. 94). She reassured Americans that they have nothing to fear from the UN: The UN Security Council "cannot do [action] without our agreement." (p. 84) She referred to Elie Wiesel as a "thinker." I read that guy, and I am dying for anybody to tell me what "thought" did he produce, unless his hallmark--card--cheesy--cliches pass as brilliant aphorisms. I must confess that her section on Islam is more sensitive and considerate than what we read and hear from Republicans and Democrats although there was little evidence of that when she was in power. It is customary for some US officials to discover wisdom after the age of 75.