Conclusion: From Beirut to Jerusalem to Washington Summary and Analysis

Friedman spends almost ten years in Lebanon and Israel. In 1987 he is asked by The New York Times if he wants to cover the State Department in Washington D.C. Friedman says yes. Before leaving, Friedman, his wife and two small daughters go out for lunch at the Inter-Continental Hotel. While driving there, they are attacked by two Palestinian youths who throw stones at the windshield. None of the Friedman family is hurt but his young daughter remember the incident. Friedman has seen violence during his tenure in the Middle East.

Friedman finds that, when he is back in the United States, many people in Washington share his view of the Middle East, basically that the future is burdened by the past. As the intifada goes on, the world...