Israel's destiny is not as a cramped fortress against the world, but as a nation amongst nations.

If Jersualem were a sacred place, then the city could and would be shared.

There is a demographic race: were it not for the orthodox Jews, Palestinians would out grow the Israeli population three to one. The plan is to settle a million orthodox Jews. They do not even have to work, thanks to the largesse of the government and Jewish people of the United States.

Fait complis have a way of disappearing in desert mountains. The water table is faltering.

Egypt affords a curious spectacle as it nears succession. Hosni Mubarak is ill, while Muhammed Baradai cuts across the Cairo skies like a comet. Baradai is a scientist, better equipped to deal with Egypt's water issues, and the peaceful use of nuclear power, for desalination as well as power.

Ethiopia is going ahead with its dam(s) on the upper Blue Nile. Can these water projects be managed?

Take the case of the Euphrates. Turkey has in place several dams, and the water has dropped in Syria and in Iraq. But what can either of these countries do? Certainly they have a case. Fortunately, water levels can be controlled, thereby preventing catastrophically low water levels on the river.

Water is an issue in every Middle Eastern, North African and Central Asian nation. Water plans are all very intricate. Focus is on small tributaries that still freely enter larger rivers. For example, with the Tigris, there are the Greater and Lesser Zab rivers, freely flowing tributaries.

The rivers in Afghanistan may not be large, but they are long, tortuous, and highly utilized. Thanks to American efforts, the Helmand valley 'system' was engineered with endless irrigation channels. It became the world's largest opium field. He recent fighting in Marja' is a test case – the struggle for control goes on.

The Arghandab, Tarin, Tarnak, and Lurah Rivers run roughly parallel to the Helmand, and each features extended villages. Communications are so bad that sections of these rivers remain completely cut off from the outside world. Google Earth is an excellent tool to use to study all these rivers, because the fields and aqueducts and canals and villages are all visible. One can even find lost cities if you know where to look.

Afghanistan is a tough case for NATO and the world. There seem to be no good options. All the more reason to look deeply. Afghanistan's judiciary and courts were completely destroyed over 37 years of tumult. The Italians were charged to help resurrect the judicial system, but had nobody competent in Shari'a, so they were worse than worthless. President Hamid Karzai took over judicial reform, and if you read Persian, you can see on the web site how they are seeking to make tentative reconstruction of the much-abused shari'a. Of course the Taliban claims to have its own qualified judges (not true) and they use the law, the Shari'a, to step into the breach.

Slowly, the Organization of the Islamic Conference is coming around. We hope they will form and deploy a group of Islamic jurists, led by the Maliki school, into hot spots like Afghanistan, Yemen, Palestine, Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Pakistan, India, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, the Balkans and the Caucasus. If the extremists want a caliphate, let us give them one.