Delicious links for February 9th through February 19th:

• The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization by Jonathan Lyons - "The Arabs gave Europeans their ideological and intellectual identity - indeed, Lyons suggests, “the West” itself is a Muslim invention. "
• Gaza After the War: Egypt's Equities and Limitations - Congressional testimony about Egypt's role in the Gaza war at last week's House Subcommittee hearing on the Gaza war.

  "The aftermath of the Gaza crisis affords some opportunities for the United States and Egypt to strengthen ties, which have been strained in recent years due to disagreements over U.S. actions in the Middle East as well as human and civil rights violations in Egypt."

• Breaking news: Barack Obama, Soviet mole - Salon.com - At least he's not a Muslim…or wait, maybe he's a Muslim Soviet Mole?
• NYT Op-Ed - Why the Muslim World Can’t Hear Obama - Alaa Aswany - "Here in Egypt, we don’t have previous or future presidents, only the present head of state who seized power through sham elections and keeps it by force, and who will probably remain in power until the end of his days."