Jordan Leads at World Economic Forum

(Dead Sea in high winds with salt deposits Photo courtesy of M. Disdero)

His Highness, King Abdullah, is the annual host of the World Economic Forum in his kingdom at the Dead Sea at the King Hussein Convention Center. Her Highness, Queen Rania of Jordan, put it best that some of the highest young minds were appearing at the lowest spot on the Earth at the Summit she addressed before the advent of the WEF. Jordan is a sovereign entity clearly engaging in the world community to forge Peace in the Middle East. Navigating world opinion and exhorting peace in the Middle East does not come easy with the changes in leadership in Israel, America and other republics that bring wildly divergent agendas to the table with each trip to the ballot box. (Preparation at the Convention Center before the WEF/Reuters photo)

Benjamin Netanyahu will never be among my favorite political retreads. He does/did/does/did/does have the right granted to him by the Israeli people to form a government and shop his hawkishness on the world stage. In an effort to make it clear where the United States stands, Leon Panetta, Director of the embattled CIA and its controversies made a trip to put things in as clear a manner as possible to Bibi about Americas expectations and the path to peace and no surprises in Iran. Prior, King Abdullah had a contentious direct meeting about Palestine with Netanyahu that bodes ill for a two state solution and peace in the region. Sharing a cup of tea between friends and allies in the president's private dining room just off the Oval Office was a much more amicable way to promote peace.

First American meeting of a Head of State for President Obama as he has tea & a formal meeting with His Majesty, King Abdullah on April 21, 2009.
The World Economic Forum meets each January in Davos with a May meeting. This year it is in Jordan. Israel's President, Shimon Peres had a heated run-in with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on stage in Davos over the relentless bombing of Gaza. Against this recent history, Jordan steps up to forge a new step forward out of two thousand plus years of history for all to live in a state of peace. The King is clear that 57 recalcitrant members of the United Nations need to get with the inevitable program and acknowledge Israel's right to exist with a 57 state solution to bring more security to the region. The ministers of the Organization of the Islamic Conference are meeting next month in Syria which leaves a perfect opportunity to re-opening the dialogue to get Muslim countries to support a full solution rather than trying to piecemeal it all together one country, nation or kingdom at a time.

"I was encouraged that in all my conversations in Washington it was clear that people know inaction is not an option," Abdullah told the opening meeting of an international economic gathering in Jordan sponsored by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum.

"The new American commitment has now opened an opportunity to change the direction of events," Abdullah told the business executives and government officials gathered at the meeting, which is being held along the shores of the Dead Sea.

Business deals shall reach agreement in the shadow of the World economic Forum. Royal Dutch Shell PLC is partnering with Jordan to explore their shale reserves. Therein lies the economic rationale for peace in the region - fossil fuels will reign supreme for many decades to come and a good portion of the developed world knows that peace in the region opens up new channels of economic prosperity. Other business agreements are being finalized at the Dead sea resort in Jordan as all of the decision makers convene in one location. Photo courtesy AP

Dancing at the Dead Sea: Tracking the World's Environmental Hotspots from Alanna Mitchell takes a look at places in the world and their reactions to to the changes in climate. The Dead Sea holds many keys based on the amount of salinity in the sea.

Gaza Powers Down - Literally

People packed into a small strip amidst a desert, untold amounts of heavily armed local and private security armies with an economy dependent on fuel to power the city is what the Las Vegas Strip has in common with the Gaza Strip. Imagine Vegas being unlit during its peak season. It is winter in Gaza, a time for when fuel is most needed. Their land border controlled by Israel, dictates the range of their economic fortunes between bad and awful.

From Gaza, homemade rockets landed in Sderot, prompting Israel to attack and again hermetically seal the borders, cutting off Gaza's ability to fuel Gaza's main power station. Israel's latest blockade's intended action is to put more strain on the Palestinian government to control its borders and ultimately Hamas. Just last week, the White House was trumpeting President Bush's ability to reignite Peace talks, but a Bush led initiative never had a solid coalition to get the two sides back to serious negotiations in a well lit room. The UN's Secretary General weighed in on Israel's action to harshly punish all of Gaza for the actions of several snipers after Israel launched retaliatory strikes killing two Hamas militant leaders and capturing four others. (David Buimovitch/AFP/Getty Images)

The organisation has criticised Israel's decision to close border crossings into Gaza, preventing aid deliveries to the 1.5 million people living in the territory, saying on Saturday that the move could provoke a humanitarian crisis.

"Such action cuts off the population from much-needed fuel supplies used to pump water and generate electricity to homes and hospitals," Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, said.

Ban also urged an immediate end to violence in Gaza and Palestinian sniper and rocket attacks into Israel. He called for "maximum restraint on the part of the Israel defence forces".

Another calamitous humanitarian crisis on Bush's deplorable unthinking watch as Leader of the Free World cannot his harm his dude ranch cowboy reputation, but the suffering of tens of thousands upon hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians will continue hardening attitudes in the Middle East, making positions intractable as a future more responsible America tries to help forge the Palestinian territories into a fledgling nation state. In past Peace talks, Israel traded valuable land for Peace, in a real effort to live and trade side by side in an Arab region. Recently, Israel suffered acidic world condemnation for its actions in the bombing of Lebanon's civilian infrastructure and its strident tone on its sovereign right to protect its people and its borders. No nation on earth is exempt from terrorist attacks, but every nation or kingdom has an inalienable right to protect itself. That point is where things get bogged down in the blowing sands of the Sinai or Mesopotamia - on the issue of retaliatory actions versus preeminent strike doctrines with all involved having a polished granite position.

The Palestinian Energy Authority said two turbines at the plant had shut early on Sunday and the plant would be closed within 24 hours.

The Energy Authority said more than a million Gazans would be affected by power outages, which would also hit hospitals, sewage works and food refrigeration systems.

But Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said the situation was not as bad as the Palestinians made out.

"They have an interest in exaggerating," he said. (AFP)

Well, minimizing another's pain and suffering is not going to win the hearts and minds of third parties. This week, the UN rights forum is holding a special meeting to discuss this issue, not the Bush White House that was so interested in brokering its version of peace last week amidst all the photo ops.

A few years ago, an Israeli journalist went to Palestine to understand and listen to the stories. This heartfelt book is the result of her journey and received richly deserved praise for telling a story through the yes of those who live in the blotches of territories known as Palestine. From Wendy Pearlman is the book, Occupied Voices: Stories of Everyday Life from the Second Infitada.

How Bush Failed to Get His Peace Groove Back

George Bush is doing everything but grabbing the mic and belting out All I Am Saying is Give Peace A Chance when in front of his Middle Eastern audiences. Out of the other side of his mouth comes - Iran is bad, does bad stuff and see Iran is creating tension with their tiny speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz. Bush dashed about the region trying to sway leaders to his view of peace from the United Arab Emirates to Jordan and across the Sinai Desert into Egypt's capital where he was Captain Supportive to quasi democratic President Hosni Mubarak amid major protests of his visit. Bringing up Egypt's well documented history of torture would be just bad form because the US of A renditioned its own prisoners there at his direction. Meanwhile, the Bush administration's top diplomacy fashionista, Secretary of State Condoleeza, took a heavily protected detour into Iraq where she pronounced signs of life returning to the streets of a blown up Baghdad.

“I appreciate very much the long and proud tradition that you’ve had for a vibrant civil society,” said Mr. Bush, whose joint appearance with the Egyptian leader was unannounced and, according to the White House, had been uncertain until the last minute.

Mr. Bush’s remarks reflected some of the contradictions evident in the issues he addressed during his trip.

The Bush Peace Tour is ending with thousands of miles logged to six different nations or kingdoms with Peace no closer in the region and no new champions of his idea to put Iran in the bad behavior timeout corner. Like Barbra Streisand, this is the penultimate farewell tour - Bush is stating his intentions for a final return in May to check on his current goal of increasing support for the Israel-Palestine peace process. Consider the real accomplishments of this tour, a young Israeli girl sang a beautiful but ironic Hebrew rendition of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Bush spoke in Abu Dabi, the crown prince in Saudi Arabia let him hold his prize pet falcon while Bush begged the King to lower oil prices for US sakes by turning on the taps full blast, and finally his painful peppering of I MEAN IT statements at every opportunity.

"When I say I'm coming back to stay engaged, I mean it," said Bush, who added he'll return to the region in May. "When I say I'm optimistic we can get a deal done, I mean what I'm saying."...

"So the Iranians ... better be careful and not be provocative and get out there and cause an incident," Bush told reporters. "Because there's going to be serious consequences. What I said in my statement was, if they hit one of our ships there's going to be serious consequences. And I meant it."

For seven years, the Bush administration allowed the fields of peace to lie fallow or dropped cluster bombs and munitions in a nineteenth century vision of Manifest Destiny on Iraq. Now, Bush is eager to be the bearer and bringer of peace while not developing the relationships necessary to have influence and credibility in the tempestuous region. Iran is solidly in his missile and gunboat sights. That he dared to try a Peace initiative at all says the distortions under which his warped world view operates. Under the devastation of preeminent war doctrine and failures of intelligence, the incompetent Bush administration, Peace has gone from Mission Accomplished to Mission Impossible.



An Arabic speaking former diplomat in both Clinton 42 & Bush 43's administrations, Dennis Ross, wrote an interesting and highly recommended book on the Middle East peace process. It is appropriately entitled, The Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace.

Bethlehem: Peace Came Upon a Midnight Square

A 20 foot high concrete wall keeps Bethlehem isolated as the full scope of Jesus's homeless beginnings in a manger and his death on a cross on the hill a few kilometers away, play out still in modern times with no end in sight. Glimpses of what could be present themselves rarely in the Middle East, but today, Bethlehem hosted thousands of pilgrims in the Spirit of Peace. Palestinians saw the poor, the prominent, the devout, the tourist, the Christian and the Muslim gather together to celebrate and honor the birth of Christ in Manger Square. The Israeli occupation has taken Bethlehem off of the list as a top tourism spot, but the city and its impoverished inhabitants soldier on, bleakly hoping and paying for economic salvation too in their own land.

Sansour also believes that visitors and pilgrims who do come show support but at the same time many are also in Bethlehem as part of "the fairy-tale story of Christmas".

Father Garret Edmonds, a Franciscan monk from California who works with pilgrim groups in Palestine and is spending his fifth Christmas in Bethlehem, said: "There are moments of hope but then everything returns to the status quo. It goes on and off like this all the time."

Father Edmonds also highlighted the increasing erosion of the Church and the increasing number of Christians choosing to emigrate from in Palestine.

"It's important to have a viable, living Church, but if things continue the way they are in 25 years there might not be a living church. Bethlehem could become one giant museum," he said.

The Grotto at the Church of the Nativity had long lines to pay homage to what is believed to be the birthplace of Jesus. In the recent past, security concerns from the 2000 Palestinian uprising dampened enthusiasm for pilgrimages into Bethlehem devastating the local economy with rising unemployment and no other means of income. This year was a different scene with kids in bright red Santa hats under Palestinian led tight security and the usual Bethlehem nativity scene in Nazareth. The Catholic leader called for peace in the Middle East while the Pontiff made Christmas greetings in 60 languages. (AP Photo Kevin Frayer)




And a little child shall lead them... makes for the children's book, from Michal Hudak An Uproar in Bethlehem told from a Christian perspective of the night Jesus was born and the three Magi.

Peace in Palestine, Not Yet

An abstract concept such as Peace seems remote for Palestinians living in carved up territories with a profound inability to negotiate with one voice on any subject. God's Land of Three Faiths is rife with Palestinian versus Palestinian, Hamas against the remnants of Arafat's Fatah, the Islamic Jihad and now the killing of Palestinian Christians under the meager authority of a Palestine's president, Mahmoud Abbas, that can speak to Israel's prime minister, but not in full to his own scattered bitterly divided people. It is an ominous harbinger of what may/will happen to the internal politics of Palestine when they attain the status of a nation state. Today, some in Palestine spoke with a sophisticated weapon rather than words of Peace by launching a rare Russian made Katyusha rocket into Israel. (AFP photo from Oct 5 Jerusalem Day March)

Katyushas, widely used by Hezbollah guerrillas to strike Israel from Lebanon in a 2006 war, can reach a distance of 20 kilometres (12 miles).

An Israeli army spokesman said Israel held Hamas responsible for the Katyusha attack. "Hamas bears responsibility for all the terror attacks emanating from the Gaza Strip regardless of who actually fired the rocket," captain Benjamin Rutland said.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has said Israel is considering a sweeping military operation in the Gaza Strip to counter the almost daily rocket salvoes. Israel also has threatened to cut power it supplies to the territory unless the attacks ceased.

With a U.S.-sponsored Middle East conference expected to be held next month, Israel has so far stuck to limited ground raids and air strikes against militants.

Frustration is fuel for further escalation and the frustration in Palestine is split between internecine internal political fights, Gaza and other segregated territories and a perpetual fight with Israel about what to return to the negotiating table with in exchange. Meanwhile, the Middle East Peace process is undercut by a Bush administration that went blind to its diplomatic responsibilities by occupying Iraq and with petty namecalling of other nations in the region. There are no more honest brokers with America's former stature to bring the factions and nations to the table for intense negotiations. Bush is not regarded as a bringer of Peace and defines himself as a War president by using preeminent strikes in America's national interest while stubbornly refusing to negotiate with enemies.

The US has called for a conference and Hamas & Jihad are scheduling a separate forum. The word conference is to re-establish connections before moving along the spectrum to negotiations. There are 15 barren months left in Bush's mendacious presidency and until the goodwill may begin again. Peace in the Middle East is the size of a mustard seed left unplanted, as the ground is not yet ready, nor is the growing season upon us, let alone should any Peace farmer expect a plentiful harvest this year.

"Any public or official conference without the participation of president Abu Mazen and the executive committee of the PLO is illegal," said Fatah spokesman Ahmed Abdelrahman in a statement. "Our Syrian brothers cannot accept any conference against the PLO."

Most of the international community recognises the PLO, headed by Abbas, as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians.

Washington had called the autumn conference amid its increased efforts to jumpstart stalled peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians but no date or venue has been confirmed.

Palestine has an economic crisis that is hampered by the lack of exporting goods, providing services or any trade with other nations. No Palestinian has means of making consistent money next door to a thriving economy in Israel. The haves versus the havenots.

Nobel Peace prize winner Jimmy Carter set off a needed firestorm in America with his book title, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. Getting past that, inside there are eloquent words ringing with truth as he discusses the daily conditions from a Palestinian perspective that lead to violent outbreaks and their endorsement of those terrible tactics. The former president does not abide the violence nor condone it as part of a tactic, instead he focuses in a factual manner on what leads to the pathology and that is what makes it very worth the read. It's an excellent book that caused controversy and hurt feelings, yet explains from one perspective what the price of Peace is about for Palestinians.

Israel's Secret Raid in Syria

George Bush refused to make any comment by saying "no comment" when asked by a reporter at Friday's press conference about Israel's September 6th commando and bombing raid in northern Syria. In light of his silence, Bush gave tacit American approval to Israel to conduct the raid on Syria who has a known partnership with Shi'a Iran, which George Bush keeps loudly accusing of being the main problem in Iraq while the remaining minority Sunnis are backed by Saudi Arabia. No comment is judicious inside this Middle Eastern tangled web that Bush has spun. Seems the Syrians had nuclear material and Israel went in and relieved them of it with full American approval. The origins of the nuclear material are stated to be from North Korea which the Cheney/Bush administration trumpeted their nuclear nonproliferation deal with the US earlier this year. Just last week Syrian officials were sighted in North Korea meeting with officials to get their stories straight before this all became public.

Evidence that North Korean personnel were at the site is said to have been shared with President George W Bush over the summer. A senior American source said the administration sought proof of nuclear-related activities before giving the attack its blessing.

This whole Axis of Evil triumvirate is about to become radio active redux. Six years later, North Korea has known nuclear capacity and is ruled by a miniature neurotic despot in love with Whitney Houston, Iran is in defiance of American led international UN sanctions while harshly emphasizing their nuclear work is for electricity and Iraq is a day-glo George Bush Gamma ray grade mess that no one is able to contain. Enter Israel who clearly states no nuclear weapons in the Middle East - except theirs. Israel's Air Force (IAF) back up their government's statements. We live in Interesting Times.

North Korea is known to be a source of missile technology that is shared within Syria. That Syria was prepared to store the nuclear materials leaves a multitude of questions about exactly how sophisticated is Syria with arming missiles with a nuclear war head. Syria has not been shy about lobbing bombs over its border into Israel, nor shooting at Israel's planes when they were in Syrian airspace.

The Syrian official expressed satisfaction that the “friendly and cooperative ties” between the two countries are growing stronger under President Bashar Al-Assad of Syria and Kim Jong Il of North Korea, KCNA said.

Guess who has said nothing so far and they have a vote at any proceedings undertaken by the United Nations Security Council and their own nuclear arsenal? China.




Israeli commandos have been the stuff of legend and lore for a variety of their known exploits. One of the most famous wrote a book covering much of Israel's military past. Secret Soldier: The True Life Story of Israel's Greatest Commando is told by Muki Betser with Robert Rosenberg.

Israel's Celebrity Draft Dodgers

Israel is equal opportunity when it comes to serving in the Israeli military, the IDF. Every gal or guy Israeli citizen must wear the fatigues and complete military training regardless of background and economic circumstances. The nation depends on it.

Lately, more than a few of Israel's most well known celeb citizens have opted out. The Minister of Defense and former prime minister, Ehud Barak says no more. Israel's knock-off of American Idol, Pop Idol, has contestants who have not met their military obligations, but they can sing - sort of. In Israel serving is compulsory, except when you are Leonardo di Caprio's supermodel girlfriend, or your playing world class soccer or you suddenly diagnose yourself mentally ill.

Many Americans with dual citizenship in America and Israel, have served in the IDF and completed their reserve duties.Michael Oren is an acclaimed author and IDF officer with dual citizenship who wrote a history of the 1967 war titled, Six Days of War: June 1967.


Another book Company C: An American's Life as a Citizen Soldier by Haim Watzman is now out in paperback.

Lebanon says Coastal Area Now Safe to Swim & Fish

A year ago this July, Israel bombed Lebanon's crucial infrastructure. A pernicious oil slick spread over some of the most gorgeous beaches in the Mediterranean. The strategic attack against the power plant created a double assault, on both Lebanon's environment and its ability to retain a tourism base. A year later, a conference convened to assess progress in rebuilding.

Oil spills are a crime against nature repeated around the world and always years in the cleanup. Today, Lebanon's Environment Ministry director announced flatly, fish are safe to eat and the water is fine for swimmers. Skeptics abound. February $200,000,000 was pledged for clean up coffers. Only a meager percentage has made it to Lebanon's clean up coffers. Lebanon has huge environmental and political issues to solve. A spirit of resolve and generosity of spirit is required.

Lebanon does boast one of the most stunning authors and sculptors of the Middle East, the incomparable and insightful Khalil Gibran:

"Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children."

"You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give." KG 1883-1931