India, Sept. 20 -- Not just Palestine or even Iran and its so-called axis nations, all of West Asia seems to live under Israel's shadow. Recent happenings are evidence. Just days after Qatar saw Israel attack alleged Hamas affiliates right within its capital, Saudi Arabia signed a military pact with Pakistan, a nuclear nation, wherein it is provided that if a third country attacks either of the two, it would be deemed an attack on the other as well. Talmiz Ahmad's West Asia at War examines the history of conflict in the region, which, among other things, helps understand why the present conflict remains tied to Israel's will to peace. Ahmad, a veteran of Indian diplomacy, explains why the defeat of a secularist vision of Arab solidarity has more to do with Israel's idea of itself than the supplanting of the vision by the weak urge for pan-Islamic solidarity backed by traditional Arab power groups....