When the onset of the Annapolis Peace Conference first arose hopes were high and all were looking forward to meeting at the peace table. Since then complications and controversies have muddied the waters and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been in the middle trying to bring all parties back to order. Many if not most Arab leaders had originally refused to attend following the release of contextual details. Egypt's bloggers can help us to understand why.
The Arab Observer
When those leaders meet, I can't help but wonder how much can they really do? The question that keeps on hitting my head without a real answer is: Is it really a matter of a leader decision to achieve peace or not? and if it is, and everyone is talking about it, then what is holding them?
Away from political and power plays, those leaders carry a burden of long history of cultural, religious and race conflict, while at the same time, carry a burden of a long future that would define the lives of two races who even if they achieved peace on papers, their history wouldn't let them to keep it at their hearts for a long time to come.
We have been there, done that, and while I would like to think that this summit can be different. With a clearer messages from all parties that they are more willing than ever to achieve peace, I can give myself the luxury of raising my hopes and pray for Al Quds (Jerusalem) to raise up again and kick off war from the hearts of this world.
Often times in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict a strong contrast between foreign media and leading newspapers appears. Sometimes that contrast is so drastic that it causes some of the Middle East's intellectuals to scratch their head as the Arabist does in his most recent post.
Reading the New York Times’ editorials on Annapolis, full of praise for “moderates” and worrying about who shook whose hand, I am reminded of why I barely read that newspaper anymore. The reporting is occasionally good, such as the very nice long feature on radicalism in northern Morocco a few days ago, but when it comes to Israel just forget about it. This piece for instance quotes, aside (current) US officials, Martin Indyk, Dennis Ross and John Bolton. Never mind the jovial hamster and his bosses.
It's fair to say the Arabs have little if no faith at all in Annapolis. That lack of hope derives from the exclusion of main issues, namely right of return, Jerusalem and the settlements. Zenobia explains her frustration.
Zenobia
Seriously I do not know why 16 Arab countries are going to attend the meeting , first the main countries in the meeting that will have direct talks are : Israel and the Palestinian authority representing only half of the Palestinian territories ,as the other half is under Hamas’ rule, these Arab countries agreed to stick to the Arab initiative Saudi Arabia proposed in the Beirut Arab Summit 2002, the same initiative Israel refused totally so I do not know what the rest of the Arab countries other than Syria are going to do , they have no business what so ever there , as long as the Saudis swore that they won't shake hands with Israelis at least in front of the cameras.
Understanding Annapolis is difficult enough. There are so many conflicting perspectives and few details available in conventional media. Augustus has a convenient breakdown.
Augustus
DIFFICULT ISSUES
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–Much has been said over a long period of time about critical issues like border, refugees and Jerusalem.–One of the truly crucial components underscoring these issues is how these states will relate to each other in practical terms concerning security and economic issues.
–We are going to do everything we can to help the parties as they try to arrive at an understanding on a wide variety of outstanding issues that must be resolved if there is to be peace and a Palestinian state.
There's no definite outcome for the peace conference but the guesses are out there and admittedly, some are much more likely than others. Until next time.
3 comments
This was just a photo opportunity and some beautiful rhetorics again! How many times we have heard these peace loving people get together and make declarations just for propaghanda purposes without achieving anything.
This was a joke!! How can a corrupt man like Mahmod Abass, whose mercenaries were beating the massive opposition right at the same time in Ramallah represent Palastinians.
Israeli leader had very promising words for the Palastinians but he should be talking to the majority of Palastinians and not to the implanted PLO leaders that cane from outside and have no desire to help Palastinians.
Israel should ease up its grip on the Large concentration camp called Gaza whose one million residents depend for water,Gas, electricity and food on their Israeli Gaurd. I believe the moment Israeli start showing humanity and care to the people of Palastine and not to gangesters like Abass , peace would return to the holey Land!
Instead of manipulating PLO’s corrupt puppets to control Palastinian Israelis. for a change, should start a people to people economic and cultural help that has nothing to do with the Sham Palastinian Authority that has no credibility in Palastine!!
Middle East peace depends upon taking control of organized crime. Normally people think of organized crime as being like the Italian Mafia. It’s the same structure and coercive tools that they use. But in the Middle East organized crime is hidden under the umbrella of the Islamic religion instead of the Catholic religion used by the Italian Mafia.
The US Oil Companies have a deal with the Iraqi Government that 85% of oil profits will belong to US Oil Corporations, while 15% will go to the Iraqi government. The people of Iraq will see none of this money.
There is a reason for all the violence. It prevents stopping the payments from the wealthy to the Mola; protection money. It isn’t widely known now, but Mola are being set up in the provinces in Iraq to suppress the people in those regions.
Every day someone in Iraq (and Iran) dies at the hands of the Mola (the soon to be province leaders). If the wealthy support the Mola less, than more than one person dies each day; maybe a member of a wealthy family.
The Mola are equivalent to the Italian Mafia Dons. They put themselves into positions were they control an army of thugs (military outside of legal jurisdictions).
The wealthy want to be left alone, so they financially support the Mola. The Mola want the money, so they leave the wealthy alone.
Corporations control the politicians. The wealthy are part of the Corporations. The politicians are indirectly working in cooperation with the Mola. The foreign Corporations profit the most, the corrupt wealthy, then the Mola. No one below the Mola get more than bread crumbs.
The Mola need an army of thugs to do their bidding. You can not get a person who is working and well fed to go kill someone for unethical reasons. You would have to pay them a great deal of money. So the Mola keep the peoples poor. The only bread crumbs for these people come from the Mola.
The wealthy could promote businesses throughout Iraq and Iran to provide economic stability for even the poorest of people. But the Mola keep the wealthy out of their area so that they themselves can maintain a flow of money.
Under the veil of Islam, government policies are put into place to enslave the people.
The Mola for the most part are uneducated and many of them can not even read the Qur’an. Yet they put themselves into position of corrupt control to feed their own bank accounts.
Make no mistake, if you want to help the people of Iraq and Iran, you must consider the governments as structures of organized crime. You must work with the Mola in the roles as leaders they have chosen to occupy. But you must not deal with them on either political or religious terms. They are leaders of organized crime; they deserve that respect.
The violence is necessary for the Mola to continually remind the wealthy that their families are in danger if the Mola are not paid; regular payments of protection money.
Help Iraq and Iran establish an Ethical Democracy:
http://blog.360.yahoo.com/jamesbdunn2?p=43