To save your time I will use the technique that Itzhak Rabin used when I saw him in Los Angeles, many years ago. He was brief and to the point; I will try to cut this vast subject to the essentials. If you wish more information log on to the CIA site:
www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ from which the statistical info here was obtained.

The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) controlled the Middle East for hundreds of years until the British conquered it in 1917 during W.W.I. The British took most of it, and gave the French, Lebanon and Syria. The British put puppet regimes in most of the countries they created, (no distinct countries existed earlier). They took direct control of Israel, created Jordan east of the river Jordan, but continue to control and subsidize it, and its commander in chief was a British officer, Glub Pasha, who converted to Islam and was avowed anti-Semitic. British officers, training and weapons were the reasons the Jordanian Army was so effective during Israel war of independence.
(Jordan: monarchy, population 5 million, fifth the size of California, but mostly desert, GDP (gross domestic product) $16 billion, PCI (per capita income) $3,500, one tenth of the US.)

The Arabs who were second class citizens, like any one else under the Turks, are viewing the Middle East as if it was always a Muslim zone because the Turks are mostly Muslim. However, the Turks do not consider themselves Arabs and are offended by this description, as are the Iranians.

The Iranian Shah was a puppet of the US and used draconian measures to control his people. This led to the revolution in 1979 and the continued hatred of the US. It is a significant oil producer, and is controlled by an exceedingly religious leadership.
(Iran has 66 million people, area four times the size of California, GDP of $350 billion, three times of Israel, PCI of $5,500, one sixth of the US.)

Iraq tried to rebel against the British "influence" during W.W.II and to join the Nazis; Israeli agents helped the British to squash this attempt. Also after W.W.II the CIA is rumored to have killed a prime minister who wanted full independence.
(Iraq has 23 million people, the size of California, GDP of $60 billion, 60% of Israel, and PCI of $2,300, one tenth of the US.)

Iran and Iraq are considered dangerous to Israel's survival. Both Rabin and Barak consider them a much more significant danger to Israel then the Palestinians, but both believed that to reduce the desire of both countries to attack Israel a peace is needed with the Palestinians. If the constant agitation of the Muslim's world by the plight of the Palestinians would stop, it would be difficult to justify attacks on Israel. Rabin and Barak stated that the Palestinians can not threaten the survival of Israel, however, the long range, mass destruction weapons that Iran and Iraq are developing could. And that was the main motivating force to reach an agreement with the Palestinians, even at high costs.

Syria is very weak economically, some consider it a third world country, and is somewhat weak militarily. Syria has some 30,000 troops in Lebanon for almost two decades and for all practical purpose controls Lebanon's politics and Hezbollah who attacks Israel for some years now. Iran also supports Hezbollah, with training, weapons and money. Syria and Iran used to view Iraq as a common enemy, being on the two sides of Iraq, however, more recently there are some breaks in their negative relationship with Iraq. Syria demands the return of the full Golan Heights that Israel took during the 1967 war initiated by Syria and Egypt. Israel had again to secure the Golan from an enormous military tank attacks in 1973, with tremendous heroism and sacrifice.
(Syria population 16 million, is 40 % the size of California, GDP of $43 billion, 40% of Israel, PCI of $2,500, 7% of the US.)

Turkey has immense supplies of fresh water and controls the sources of the main rivers of Syria and Iraq, therefore, these countries rarely express any opposition to Turkey. In the last few years Turkey developed good military ties with Israel because Israel modernizes its advanced weapons more economically than other countries, and can not be a threat to Turkey. One of the hopes from peace in this very arid region is that Turkey could supply Jordan, Israel and Palestine with fresh water via pipes crossing Syria. All these countries have extreme shortage of fresh water. Some expect that this shortage would be one of the most difficult long-term problems in the region whose population is increasing and the water supply diminishing. Currently Israel brings some water from Turkey via refurbished old oil tankers.

There are also a number of small independent countries governed by oil rulers near Kuwait, which have no military significance, but are useful contributors to the world oil supply. England tries to be their patron when called for.

Saudi Arabia, the largest oil producer in the world, has also the largest oil reserves. It tries to stabilize oil prices and is generally considered the moderate part of OPEC. The cost of extracting oil there is minimal because of the geology. It is one of the richest per capita countries in the Arab world after Kuwait and the sparsely populated oil kingdoms mentions earlier. Saudi is tightly controlled with iron hands by a monarchy and its extended family, with no political freedom. They cut the hands of thieves, and still have slaves, but it is declining. No Jews are allowed in the country, and women and Jews in US military units are not allowed to leave their camps. The two most important Islamic sites in the world, the cities of Medina and Mecca, are there. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims take pilgrimage, Hadj, to Mecca to elevate their religious experience and get a special title, Hadji, for being there.

Saudi Arabia is not militarily strong and depends completely on the US to supply it with modern weapons, which Israel considers a danger to itself since these weapons can be easily transferred to other Arab countries who could attack Israel. A possible revolution in Saudi Arabia is a major fear in the Western world, especially Europe, since it depends on the reliable supply of Saudi oil. The danger to Saudi Arabia' stability and independence was the main reason for the Gulf War, not the independence of Kuwait, (since Saddam Hussein would have continue to sell Kuwaiti an oil to Europe).
(Saudi: Population 22 million, including 5 million foreign workers, 20% the size of the US, but almost all desert, GDP $190 billion, PCI $9,000, a quarter of US, all from oil export.)

Egypt has the strongest military of all the Arab countries, however, it is quite weak economically. Its population is increasing rapidly, and it is quite backward in infrastructure and technology. It is a large flat country without rain, and its only source of fresh water is the mighty Nile River, near which most of its population is located, creating large population concentrations.
(Population 68 million, area twice the size of California, but mostly desert, GDP $200 billion, twice Israel's, PCI $3,000, one tenth of the US.)

Some additional points:
* Mecca and Medina were mentioned often in past religious Muslim literature. Jerusalem never.
* During W.W.I some 35 % of the people of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, were Jews, some of them very influential, but most of low income. Jews lived there for more than two thousands years, way before the Arabs, and considered themselves true Iraqis. In 1950, just 15% of Baghdad were Jews, and after the creation of Israel there was a small agitation by Jewish youth to immigrate to Israel. Influential Jewish leaders convinced the Prime minister to open the gate for one year to allow any Jew who wanted to immigrate to Israel to go. The expectation was that a small number, and the agitators, will leave and the Jewish community would continue to live in harmony there. But nine years earlier, in June 1941, a three days pogrom took place in Baghdad, with murders and looting of Jews that shook the Jewish community, and was remembered under the surface. When the gates were open in 1950, over 95% of the Jews, some 124,000, left Iraq to Israel. It was a major surprise to the local Jewish community, and Israel, who was not prepared for this influx. The economic impact on Iraq was noticeable and long term.

* Relating to the above information, it is important to note that, Jews who immigrated to Israel from Arab countries, who are usually called Sepharadim, are the most suspicious of peace with the Palestinians and Arabs in general. Sepharadim generally believe that the Arabs can not be trusted, and claim that this is based on their experience of living with them for hundreds of years. The most vocal peace activists in Israel were Ashkenasim, Jews and their descendents, who came from Europe and never lived previously with Arabs.

The Palestinians are not trusted by any Arab country, and therefore supported Saddam Hussein. They were greatly hated in Kuwait and many were killed after the Gulf war. Only Jordan accepted them in large numbers, about 70% of the Jordanians have been Palestinians. Egypt refused to take over the Gaza strip, which borders on their Sinai desert, because of the volatility of its refugees camps, and the bad experience they had there when managing it prior to the 1967 war.
West Bank: population 2 million, land 6,000 sq. km, 30% if Israel, GDP $3.3 billion, mostly agriculture, PCI of only $2,000, great poverty.
Gaza: population 1.1 million, land 360 sq. km. very high population density, GDP $1.2 billion, PCI just $1,000, half of the West Bank's, and only 5% of Israel's.

Israel is the only democracy in the region. It has 5 million Jews, just 2.5% of the 200 million Muslim in the region, and also one million Muslims. Israel is twenty times SMALLER than California, LESS THAN ONE HALF PERCENT THE SIZE OF THE ARAB COUNTRIES, GDP of $105 billion, half of Egypt, PCI of $19,000, half of the US.
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(Originally written 5/8/01)