Holistic solutions in the Middle East

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If there is one thing that the Israelis really don't want it is a "global solution" to the Middle East. Well, that's not exactly true, the "Global War On Terrorism" (GWOT) and the invasion of Iraq as a prelude to the invasion of Syria and then the invasion of Iran, "real men go to Tehran", was the Israeli right's and their neocon Washington operative's first choice, but that isn't working out is it? If a global conference takes place, the Israelis will have to give up all the land they took in 1967, including Jerusalem. Now, there are many Israelis and even more American Jewish people who would be more than glad to sign that to get some peace, but as Americans have cause to know, right wing crazies often carry the day against all reason. Any "making nice" by the Olmert government at this point has to be taken with total skepticism: they are simply playing for time. This is not dumb: things are deteriorating so fast and Bush is so crazy, that they may finally escape from a peace conference without taking the blame for its failure. DS

Abstract - Middle East hot spots merging - Christian Science Monitor: After sitting down with President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Jordan Thursday to seek solutions to Iraq's agony, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice waded into the other conflict spreading bitterness throughout the region. Hoping to keep the Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire momentum alive, Ms. Rice went to the West Bank and Jerusalem Thursday to nudge the two sides toward concerted peacemaking. The two events underscore the gradually eroding boundaries between Middle East flash points - from Baghdad to Beirut to Gaza. Indeed, the Bush administration's visits come amid growing discussion about the need to find holistic solutions. A growing number of observers - most notably British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Jordan's King Abdullah - have advocated that solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would boost stability. But others say the rise of radical Islam, Iran's push to become a nuclear and regional power, and the US initiative to promote democracy have created a complex web of forces that contribute to conflicts around the Middle East. "Progress between Israel and Palestinians is good for efforts to deal with other conflicts in the Middle East. Undoubtedly they're all interlocked," says Yossi Alpher, the coeditor of the online Middle East journal Bitterlemons.org. "But I'm very wary of arguments which we increasingly hear, that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the key to everything. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are very extensive linkages that you didn't have in the past, but it goes both ways."(...) In September, Philip Zelikow, a senior adviser to Rice, called the Israeli-Palestinian problem "the essential glue that binds a lot of these problems together." Mohammed Dejani, a political science professor at Al Quds University, described the conflict as a "historic issue" in the Arab world. "A lot of the anger and resentment that's taking place regarding the policies of the US has been because of its stand on this issue," he says. "All radical regimes and movements are using this issue because among the masses in the Arab world there is a lot of sympathy regarding the suffering of the Palestinians."(...) The regional linkages are increasingly being recognized in Israel, which in the past has preferred bilateral negotiations as the only means to solving the conflicts with its neighbors. In his speech this week, Olmert said he planned to reach out to moderate Arab states to help advance the peace process and even praised a four-year-old Saudi Arabian peace plan. READ IT ALL