For the sake of argument, let us assume that the US administration has already arrived at the tacit conclusion that Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons is inevitable, in spite of all US and international efforts to prevent this. What would the repercussions be if this conclusion became known? How would the administration behave if its conclusions became known to the public? How would it work to minimize the ensuing damages from this revelation, both internally and internationally?

According to recent report, ^[1] in a meeting held a few weeks ago with a group of British policy analysts, Syrian foreign minister Walid Muallem said: "For peacemaking, Israel needs to be ready to recognize that Syria is entitled to every inch of the Golan, but we wish to engage in talks." "For us," he continued, "the land is sacred and a matter of honour."

The Prerequisite for Peace in the Middle East: Arab Recognition of the Legitimacy of Israel

BESA Center Perspectives Papers No. 100

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Middle East peace diplomacy aimed at ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the broader Arab-Israeli conflict is bound to fail yet again unless the process is reconfigured to emphasize, as its centerpiece, Arab recognition of the Jewish People's ancient claims to their ancestral homeland and the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. Waiting for this necessary change of heart among Palestinians and other Arabs concerning Israel's legitimate Jewish character and national future is the wisest route to peace.

It is fascinating to apply simple statistics to Islam's doctrine found in Koran, Sira and Hadith. For instance, what was the growth of Islam under Mohammed? The Sira is a storehouse of information and tells us that when Mohammed left Mecca (at the insistence of the Meccans) that preaching the religion of Islam for 13 years persuaded only 150 Arabs to convert to Islam.

Mohammed then changed his methods of persuasion and added lethal force, jihad, to his strategy. He died 10 years after moving to Medina. How many Muslims were there in Arabia at his death? Those figures are not given, but we can make a good estimate. Four years after Mohammed's death, Islam fought a large battle at Yarmuk. We are told that there were 24,000 jihadists at Yarmuk. In a nation fully at war, about 10% of the population is involved with the military. If 10% were 24,000 then the total population of Muslims would be 240,000. This is only an estimate, but it is enough to make the following graph: