[Very soon, an alliance of 10 Arab nations will form a peaceful partnership with Israel. These years of "transition" are mentioned in this story.]

Barry Rubin
(3/20/2008)

There’s a fascinating interview in the February 10 Jerusalem Post with former British prime minister and now Quartet peace envoy Tony Blair. On one hand, it gets things wrong but on the other hand it expresses some extremely important trends.

Blair states that many Arab leaders back terms for a peace agreement “very close to what Israel is wanting….I have a genuine belief, and this is not shared by everyone in Israel: The Arabs genuinely want this settled now.” And the type of agreement they want and would accept is close to Israel’s requirements.

...The Arab world, he says, is “in transition” into either a modern, globalized view or the Islamists’ “battle to the death” against “theWest and its allies including Israel.” ...