"Conspicuously missing from the ubiquitous Iraq war critique was the subtle agenda of water rights in the parched Middle East region," writes Leah C. Wells. "The dialogue about access to clean water is commonplace in peace talks throughout the Middle East, but Western diplomats rarely broach the topic. An anonymous U.S. State Department official quoted in National Geographic said, 'people outside the region tend not to hear about the issue (of water). It just doesn't make the news.' By design, not by accident, this issue is obscured from Western eyes because the propaganda machinery from Washington, DC has not allowed it."