In 1948 a lot of what the U.S. did in the area of Foreign Affairs was predicated on aspects of the Cold War - always the threat of undue influence in any region from Moscow was of primary importance. And it shaped our relations with the rest of the world, and many times not with the best outcomes (Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia). Since the end of the era of the Soviet Union, it's become the threat of Islamic Extremists and another whole set of new and complicated fears.

But as much debate as there is going on now over the Palestinian question, there was going on with the Israeli question, sixty-three years earlier.

Here is a Sunday featuring the noted NBC newsman and commentator Clifton Utley from May of 1948, where Utley discusses the role of the U.S. in the Middle East and the newly declared nation of Israel in the United Nations.