Nir Rosen sent me this: "in the january 2008 issue vanity fair has an article by cullen murphy entitled 'lines in the sand.' this is how they introduce it: a recently uncovered 1918 map reveals t.e. lawrence's vision for a modern middle east, which the british government ignored. going 'lawrence of arabia' one better, four experts - david fromkin, dennis ross, kenneth pollack and daniel byman- chart the region's more 'natural' divisions as they look today.'" I fact, of the people mentioned, only Kenneth Pollack studied the Middle East and has some language.