As Obama takes office, Mideast needs his attention In Print by Ziad Asali - The Philadelphia Inquirer (Opinion) - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am By Ziad Asali and Tom Dine Joe Biden predicted that Barack Obama would be tested by a foreign-policy crisis early in his term. The recent surge of violence in Gaza came even sooner than that. How Obama approaches Gaza will be critical not only for the immediate security of Israelis and Palestinians, but also for the resolution of the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. relations with the world's Muslims. » Read more