For Netanyahu, however, buying time with a hostile administration may be the best he can aspire to during his current term in office.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Obama's losing streak and Israel

As the hawkish John Bolton, a former Bush administration official, said this week, Israel may think the best time to attack would be during America's presidential transition too late to be accused of influencing the election and before needing a new president's green light.

ECONOMIST: Israel and Iran

Her prolific letters, diaries, and intelligence position papers, no less than her eight books and her magnum opus, Review of the Civil Administration of Mesopotamia, make Gertrude Bell one of the best-documented women of all time.

NPR: Excerpt: 'Gertrude Bell'