The war on terror has taken some interesting turns, but none quite as intriguing as having one of the original Islamist states establishing diplomatic relations with Israel. In the wake of two missives from Osama bin Laden, likely from a hideout in Waziristan, the Pakistanis intend on establishing relations with the so-called Zionists:

Full diplomatic relations between Israel and Pakistan will be established in a short period of time, a group of Pakistani expatriates living in the US predicted last week during a visit to Jerusalem.

An eight-member delegation from the American Muslim Peace Initiative came to Israel as guests of the American Jewish Congress's Council for World Jewry, which has been working to improve ties between Israel and the 160 million Muslims of Pakistan.

The two organizations were instrumental in bringing about an historic meeting between the foreign ministers of Israel and Pakistan last year in Istanbul and a handshake at the United Nations General Assembly last September between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and then-prime minister Ariel Sharon.

"We don't have an iota of doubt that there should be relations between Pakistan and Israel and between Israel and the entire Arab world," said Dr. Omar Atiq, a member of the delegation who lives in Arkansas. "The ice has been broken. It's just a matter of time. It's not if - it's when. It's around the corner - despite what is going on in the news."

The timing certainly provides some clarity on the centrality of the Palestinians in the Muslim world. Atiq's dismissal of the Gaza confrontation as having any impact on improving relations between Israel and the Muslim world demonstrates what many of us already knew about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: it has no weight on their national interests. The governments of the region used the Palestinians for their own internal politics, not out of any sense of real commitment to the Palestinians.

Now that the Palestinians have shown themselves completely incapable of rational self-government in Gaza, the moderate regimes in the region have started to distance themselves from the PA. Only Syria and Iran still hold a hard-line position, but Assad cannot afford to anger Hamas and Hezbollah, lest his already shaky regime fall. Egypt and Jordan have tried to stay in a middle position, having already established their ties with Israel, and the new Iraqi government recalls all too well the primacy Saddam placed on the Palestinian terrorists. Saudi Arabia may remain the only wild card; they have remained fairly silent during the latest crisis.

If the ex-pats have it correct, the new relations between Pakistan and Israel will represent a tremendous blow to bin Laden and his attempt to radicalize the ummah. It would probably force Osama to concentrate more of his efforts towards the Musharraf regime instead of the West, assuming he can extricate what's left of the AQ assets from the disaster they face in Iraq. Having moderates come to power and establish a network of relations to Israel and the West represents his worst nightmare, and again shows why American resolve in establishing democracy in Iraq had such strategic importance for the war on terror.

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