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Office of Terje Rod-Larnena September 9 update 9 September, 2012 B B Article 1. The Washington Institute Asset Test: How the United States Benefits from Its Alliance with Israel (Executive Summery) Michael Eisenstadt and David Pollock Article 2. BBC Saudi Arabia's al-Qaeda challenge Gerald Butt Article 3. EFTA_R1_00167956 EFTA01809504 Al-Ahram Weekly Peace treaty must be revised Galal Nassar Article 4. Washington Post A more religious world David Ignatius B Article 1. The Washington Institute Asset Test: How the United States Benefits from Its Alliance with Israel (Executive Summery) Michael Eisenstadt and David Pollock B September 2012 -- THE U.S.-ISRAEL B special relationship has tradiB-tionally been defined in terms of a moral obligaB-tion, shared values, and common interests. DurB-ing the Cold War, Israel also came to be seen as a strategic asset that served as a bulwark against Soviet influence and a counter to radical Arab nationalism. U.S. military assistance to Israel conB-tributed to peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, and has deterred the outbreak of major interstate Arab-Israeli conflicts since 1982. The U.S.-Israel relationship likewise has helped EFTA_R1_00167957 EFTA01809505 spur closer U.S.- Arab ties ever since the 1973 war, because most Arabs have believed that only the United States could deliver the Israeli concessions that they required for a peace agreement. Yet since the end of the Cold War, some in the United Statesbal° Israethhave preferred not to discuss the details of the security relationship, at least in public, because it was feared that it would disrupt U.S. cooperation with Arab and Muslim allies. As a result, many of the benefits of U.S.-Israel security cooperation have gone unrecognized. A decade after 9/11, however, al-Qaeda is a fragB-mented, weakened organization. And while the war on al-Qaeda and its affiliates is far from over, the United States faces a changed, more complex security environment. It is defined not only by the bhardbintelligence and counterterrorB-ism communities and for the U.S. military. It is a leader in the development of technologies that are transforming the face of modern warfare, includB-ing cyber systems, robotics, rocket/missile defenses, battlefield ISR, advanced munitions, passive and active defenses for armored vehicles, and mini-satellites. And Israeli innovations in a number of civilian areasbIT. water conservation and managegrment high-tech agriculture. medical R&D, cleara-techlrenewable energy' and saciatairasillancab have the potential to help the United States meet many of the bsoftb EFTA_R1_00167958 EFTA01809506