Monumental strides have been made towards a lasting peace in the Middle East and no one can deny that it was no accident arising from the Bush administration's policies - especially if you are one who believes that the neocons had a strong influence on those policies. This was by design.

In an interview yesterday, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan said, "Inshallah (God willing) I will also meet Prime Minister Sharon soon."

By also, he was referring to the actions of another leader of the region, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who shook hands with Sharon at the UN General Assembly last month.

In addition, Pakistan has now accepted earthquake relief aid from Israel.