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The Middle East is a geographical region that encompasses roughly a majority of Western Asia (excluding the Caucasus) as well as Egypt. The term is used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the derived noun is Middle-Easterner. The largest ethnic group in the Middle East are Arabs, with Turks, Turkomans, Persians, Kurds, Azeris, Copts, Jews, Assyrians, Maronites, Circassians, Somalis, Armenians, Druze and numerous additional minor ethnic groups forming other significant populations.

And Israel is not only our ally; it is a beacon of what democracy can and should mean… If the people of the Middle East are not sure what democracy means, let them look to Israel.
- Hillary Clinton, Hanukkah dinner speech at Yeshiva University (December 2005)

Things in the Middle East can always be worse than they are. And give it time, and they’ll get there.
- Ryan Crocker, interview with PBS Frontline

I'm very worried about living conditions faced by Christians who are suffering from conflicts and tensions in many areas of the Middle East. So often Ägypten, Iraq and Syria and other areas in the Holy Land ooze tears.
- Pope Francis, as quoted in "Pope asks Middle East governments to protect Christians" (22 November 2013), Ecumenical News

Israel is the Middle East’s only legitimate democracy, surrounded by cadres, warlords and villains that do not respect democracy or human rights. These bellicose nations jealously regard Israel, envying its success, stability, and might. Israel faces an impossible calculus between defending itself and facing angry outcries or risking its own destruction.
- Stephen Harper, as quoted in "We Must Support Democracy in the Middle East" (31 January 2014), The Barrie Examiner.

I would rather visit Latin America or the Middle East than Europe. The people – especially Arabs and Kurds – are more pleasant to be around.
- Michael Totten, "51 Facts About Me" (26 June 2006), World Affairs Journal

[P]olitics in the Middle East isn’t as personal as it often is in the West, in part because Middle Easterners are accustomed to having their politics dictated to them by the powerful. Politicians are usually above accountability and beyond control of the people. They assume that’s how it is in the Western countries as well.
- Michael Totten, "Hanging With Hezbollah" (1 January 2007), World Affairs Journal

Middle Eastern people and rulers despise each other as much as, and sometimes even more than, they despise Israel. That has been true since the day Israel was born, and it hasn’t stopped being true for even five minutes... [I]f you can’t afford to enrage Arab leaders, you can’t make alliances with anyone in the Middle East, Jewish or Arab.
- Michael Totten, "We Are Still Living With Eisenhower’s Biggest Mistake" (February 2017), The Tower

Israel is not what is wrong about the Middle East, Israel is what is right about the Middle East... Now the threat to my country cannot be overstated. Those who dismiss it are sticking their heads in the sand... When we say never again, we mean never again! Israel always reserves the right to defend itself... While Israel will be ever vigilant in its defense, we will never give up on our quest for peace. I guess we'll give it up when we achieve it. Israel wants peace; Israel needs peace. We've achieved historic peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan that have held up for decades... In Judea and Samaria, the Jewish people are not foreign occupiers. We are not the British in India. We are not the Belgians in the Congo. This is the land of our forefathers, the Land of Israel, to which Abraham brought the idea of one God, where David set out to confront Goliath, and where Isaiah saw a vision of eternal peace... No distortion of history can deny the four thousand year old bond, between the Jewish people and the Jewish land.
- Benjamin Netanyahu, address to joint meeting of the U.S. Congress (24 May 2011).

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 * And Israel is not only our ally; it is a beacon of what democracy can and should mean… If the people of the Middle East are not sure what democracy means, let them look to Israel.
 ** [[Hillary Clinton]], [http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0550,lombardi,70903,2.html Hanukkah dinner speech] at [[w:Yeshiva University|Yeshiva University]] (December 2005)
+*Things in the Middle East can always be worse than they are. And give it time, and they’ll get there.
+**[[w:Ryan Crocker|Ryan Crocker]], [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-frontline-interview-ryan-crocker/ interview with PBS Frontline]
 * I'm very worried about living conditions faced by Christians who are suffering from conflicts and tensions in many areas of the Middle East. So often [[Egypt]], [[Iraq]] and [[Syria]] and other areas in the Holy Land ooze tears.