I think that the only place where you and I disagree is on the subject of Israel being at the center of it all.

Lets face it; the Muslim world is for the most part a complete basket case. Even in the oil rich countries, most Muslims live lives of nearly total poverty.

Take Israel completely out of the picture and you'll still have discontent...And the powers that be in the area are always going to try to direct that at the good ol USA to hide their own guilt for that poverty.

I agree that we are headed the way of some sort of nuclear exchange in the region, as proliferation cannot be stopped in anything except the short run. Nothing the US can do or say to Israel or anyone else can stop the eventuality of a Sadam Wantabe from obtaining and using weapons of mass destruction in the region.

One of the reasons I support Missile Defense is because I think that eventually, even if Israel has already been wiped off the face of the planet, some whacked out leader over there is going to get the foolish idea that he can make Islam the world's religion by launching a nuclear strike against America.

We can't stop proliferation any more than the Chinese can stop the free exchange of ideas on the Internet. And those two subjects are closely intertwined.

Scott