More than 75 years of efforts to broker a two-state solution have failed—and the odds of success have only grown longer.

Peace in the Middle East has been elusive. It has been bedeviling and challenging because of Arab intransigence and delusional thinking. The Partition Plan of 1947 was accepted by Israel and rejected by the Arab world leading to five Arab countries attacking Israel.

Assad's ouster from Syria, a weakened Iran and Lebanon's new government are attracting renewed interest in stocks and sovereign debt.