Unleashing the Beast

W HEN I SLAM R ULES THE W ORLD / 195

only acceptable behavior but is being encouraged as an alternative lifestyle. Fifty years ago, only two nations were considered the superpowers with weapons of mass destruction—America and Russia. Today, third world dictators trade drugs for weapons on the black market and can purchase almost anything the mind can dream. Today, France, Israel, India, Pakistan, England and other largely populated nations have the nuclear bomb. Almost every major Islamic nation is working on a nuclear program with hopes of having their own nuclear capability. This is the greatest threat to the existence of Israel. Fifty years ago, no one was talking "land for peace" among the Israelis and the Palestinians. Peace efforts began under President Jimmy Carter and continued under President Bill Clinton, falling apart toward the end of his administration. Yet, the Palestinian cry is, "If Israel wants peace, you must give us land." The presence of Christians and Jews in Jerusalem is a thorn in the side of fanatical Islam. The Islamic nations surrounding Israel are using the Palestinian issue to eventually push the Jews and Christians out of Jerusalem. For many years, Jews and Palestinians raised their families together and were friends. After Israel annexed East Jerusalem from Jordan after the 1967 War, attitudes changed. Later, the intifada (uprising) began, inspiring a plague of Islamic suicide martyrs. The controversy of a Palestinian state separate from Israel will be the fuse on the bomb, igniting the entire area into an apocalyptic powder keg. I believe the man who