King Abdullah says peace with Israel now or Middle East war in two years. US set to make peace deal. Good idea?

King Abdullah says peace with Israel now or Middle East war in two years. US set to make peace deal. Good idea?

timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_... The TimesMay 11, 2009King Abdullah of Jordan's ultimatum: peace now or it’s war next yearRichard Beeston and Michael Binyon in Amman America is putting the final touches to a hugely ambitious peace plan for the Middle East, aimed at ending more than 60 years of conflict between Israel and the Arabs, according to Jordan’s King Abdullah, who is helping to bring the parties together. The Obama Administration is pushing for a comprehensive peace agreement that would include settling Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians and its territorial disputes with Syria and Lebanon, King Abdullah II told The Times. Failure to reach agreement at this critical juncture would draw the world into a new Middle East war next year.

“If we delay our peace negotiations, then there is going to be another conflict between Arabs or Muslims and Israel in the next 12-18 months,” the King said. Asked by spikejones 32 months ago Similar questions: King Abdullah peace Israel Middle East war years set make deal idea Politics & Law > War.

Similar questions: King Abdullah peace Israel Middle East war years set make deal idea.

We should not be forcing "peace treaties" on Israel. Israel has been under attack since the very day it was created AS A JEWISH STATE BY THE UNITED NATIONS. This sole democracy in the Middle East has been our most valued friend in the region.

Israel is our best source of reliable intelligence in the Middle East and they are also one of our largest trading partners in the entire world. They have suffered war after war, attack after attack, since the day their nation was born. I am 71 years old and I can remember reading about tour busses and other targets being blown up back WHEN I WAS IN JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL!

That's over 60 years. And that has been the history of this tiny nation ever since. Israel has not been the agressor.

Oh sure, we hear about "occupied territories" but they were not "occupied" until they were acquired as a result of a war. Sort of like the American Southwest from Mexico, the thirteen colonies from England, and don't forget the acquisitions from the Spanish, the French, and the Indians and the Russians. The entire map of the world is drawn as the result of wars.

And yet we generally forget that Israel has returned the huge parcel of land called the Sinai back to Egypt as part of a peace deal with Egypt. But there has been no peace since relinquishing Gaza. Only constant shelling.

I wonder how long Americans would endure such shelling if one of our neighbors lobbed shells into our country day after day, year after year. How many Americans would tolerate the rest of the world forcing a treaty on us concerning our ongoing border problems with Mexico. I truly don't think many Americans know enough about the complexity of the history of the Middle East to comment intelligently on URL1 many of us see it in simplistic terms driven by the media.

READ. Read about the history of the region at least as far back as the last half of the nineteenth century. There are even novels that, while fictional, the background of the story accurately depicts the regions history.

We need to respect Israel's right to do what is in her own self interest in dealing with people who are sworn to destroy her.

King Abdullah (II) is a brave man. He has swum against the current in Arab waters, as a West-leaning moderate leader. I like him and I respect him.To a degree, I trust him.

I don’t know what prompted him to say this. In a sense, it is a tautology. If we don’t make peace, war will erupt--in 1-2 years or whenever.

Candidly, if firing rockets and missiles into Israel constitutes war, then Israel has been and is in a continued state of war with some of its neighbors. Israelis are tired of war. Israel, despite its current right wing government, is eager to make a lasting peace.

Israel would be willing to make serious concessions for peace, if it felt the other side(s) were committed to peace as well. But, think for a moment. Let’s say Israel sits down seriously with the Palestinian Authority, Syria, and Lebanon, and makes major concessions to come to a peace agreement with each of those entities independently.

What would be the point? Non-state zballah in the North and non-state Hamas in the Southwest will not recognize Israel, they will not accept a peace solution that allows Israel to exist (2-state solution), and, in fact, Hamas cannot even come to agreement with the Palestinian Authority on a unity government for the Palestinians. Zballah would now have the ability to fire rockets into Israel from Lebanon and from the presumably returned Golan Heights.

Hamas hasn't stopped firing rockets into Israel. This smacks of idiocy. Israel would have made tough concessions.

Israel would possibly have ceded territory in the North that has strategic military value--e.g. , Golan Heights, Shebaa Farms--and the only change for Israelis is that they now have a dramatically greater risk of attack from Syrian territory. What does Israel get? Recognition by some Arab states?

The ability for its commercial airliners to fly over Arab nations without being shot down? What am I missing here? There is very little value for Israel to begin a peace negotiation process until the most problematic parties agree to negotiate for a future vision of peace with Israel and a Palestinian Arab state.

Having to continue to fight Arabs from a strategically weakened position makes little sense to me. The only exception I can envision to the statement I just made is if Israel strikes a deal with the Palestinian Authority just for the West Bank (Israel’s Judea and Samaria provinces). Hopefully over a 5-year period, economic prosperity comes to Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank.

During the same time, nothing changes in the Gaza Strip. Gazan Arabs, in this scenario not part of the Palestinian Authority, continue to live off foreign assistance. Iran continues to finance Hamas.

Hamas continues to maintain a forced stranglehold over the Palestinian Arab population in Gaza. And, Hamas continues to mount terror attacks on Israel. Palestinian Arabs are not terrorists.

They are just normal people like Israelis. They want jobs. They want a good education for their children.

They want safety and peace so their families can enjoy life. Unfortunately, Iran and the non-state militant Islamists in Gaza and Lebanon have very different objectives. Their existence is predicated on a 1-state solution--an Islamic state between (Jordan) River and the (Mediterranean) Sea.

But, don't get fooled by the religion thing. Islam is the rallying cry. But, this is not a religious fight at all.

This is a power struggle over land. Everyone likes to be seen as brokering peace in the Middle East. American Presidents love to claim credit.

Carter did nothing. Sadat of Egypt made the uniquely bold move for peace with Israel. Begin of Israel responded affirmatively.

Carter arranged the photo op. Middle Eastern leaders like to be seen in an enabling role too. Often this is felt to be a prerequisite for US aid.

So the Israelis, Egyptians, Jordanians, the Turks, the Saudis, all jockey for position. The US, which has shown its subtle adeptness for grasping Middle Eastern politics over the past century (for those of you who know little about modern Middle Eastern history, I am being sarcastic here), seems to eat this up. But, with Saddam Hussein now out of the picture, there is one major player that Israel and Arab States agree on as the number one enemy: Shia Iran.

It has tinkered with Lebanon through the militant Shia Islamist terror group It has tinkered with the Palestinian-Israel situation through the Sunni Islamist terror group Hamas, which tries its best to emulate Of late it has been contributing to unrest in Egypt through Egypt has historically kept its Muslim Brotherhood Islamists under tight oppressive control (some see the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood as the origin of fundamentalist Islamism). That is seemingly starting to change. Mubarak is getting old.

S son doesn’t want the job.It will only be time until there is unrest across the Arab Middle East. Israel will get the blame and as usual will be the flashpoint. But, Iran will be the power and cause behind the scenes.

You ask, is it a good idea to make a peace deal? It is always a good idea to make peace, lasting peace. But, the factions who are not making peace are the ones who deserve the greatest attention--Iran, non-state and non-state Hamas.

For Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt to make or maintain peace with Israel may be less important than for them to ally together in opposition against Iran and its militant ambassadors in Lebanon and Gaza. Each of those 4 Arab nations is very different. But, each is very concerned about Iran.

If war arises again in the Middle East, I am not sure about Israel's role. But, you can be sure that Iran will have its signature all over it. Sources: a personal interest in Middle Eastern history and politics that dates back decades..

1 I'm glad the stars are aligning for a serious effort at peace, but I don't see why a failure should lead to war. The current situation, unpleasant as it is, is reasonably stable. None of the Arab countries are willing to go to war to help the Palestinians, and Israel crosses the borders only to go after what it perceives as terrorist threats.

Israel has a peace treaty with Egypt that remains fairly strong, and the West Bank is a buffer between them and Jordan. Things get hot with Lebanon every so often, but Israel has no real interest in occupying Lebanon. Perhaps Abdullah knows of something likely to shift the balance of power, but it's a balance that has been reasonably stable for about three decades.

I'm glad the stars are aligning for a serious effort at peace, but I don't see why a failure should lead to war. The current situation, unpleasant as it is, is reasonably stable. None of the Arab countries are willing to go to war to help the Palestinians, and Israel crosses the borders only to go after what it perceives as terrorist threats.

Israel has a peace treaty with Egypt that remains fairly strong, and the West Bank is a buffer between them and Jordan. Things get hot with Lebanon every so often, but Israel has no real interest in occupying Lebanon. Perhaps Abdullah knows of something likely to shift the balance of power, but it's a balance that has been reasonably stable for about three decades.

2 Every president since the formation of Israel has had a plan to bring peace in the middle east. Since the PLO's stated mission is to "push Israel into the sea" and Israel's stated mission is to live in their ancestral homeland, I believe the best statement of the chances for a successful peace involves the potential for a normally warm locale to experience a sudden and severe chill.

Every president since the formation of Israel has had a plan to bring peace in the middle east. Since the PLO's stated mission is to "push Israel into the sea" and Israel's stated mission is to live in their ancestral homeland, I believe the best statement of the chances for a successful peace involves the potential for a normally warm locale to experience a sudden and severe chill.

3 I think this is historic and epoch-making. I don't think Americans appreciate how cynical this issue makes people outside the USA. Joe Biden said this issue 'poisons US foreign policy' and he's right.

The number of times I have sat at dinner tables -all over the world-and heard all sorts of natural US supporters -educated, professional liberal-minded people- expressing concern over the suffering of the Palestinians, and the seeming indifference of the US or support for its perpetrators.

I think this is historic and epoch-making. I don't think Americans appreciate how cynical this issue makes people outside the USA. Joe Biden said this issue 'poisons US foreign policy' and he's right.

The number of times I have sat at dinner tables -all over the world-and heard all sorts of natural US supporters -educated, professional liberal-minded people- expressing concern over the suffering of the Palestinians, and the seeming indifference of the US or support for its perpetrators.

IRAQ: War Launched to Protect Israel says Bush Adviser. Was this a good idea? & Is it true?" "I honor those who served for War and Peace.

" "In a nutshell, what is the Israeli / Middle East war about? " "a book about East africa during world war!" "The U.S. military spends $1,039,531,000,000 which is $1.98 million per minute. Can't we make peace in a better, not war?

" "During the war years when goods were in short supply what uses did the needy people make of surplus parachutes?" "Do you think there will be third world war in the next 50 years? " "What is happening in the Middle East? Are there signs of war?" "Do you think there will be third world war in the next 50 years?

" "Is Santorum totally oblivious on foreign affairs or does he want to start a war in the middle east? He noted that.

IRAQ: War Launched to Protect Israel says Bush Adviser. Was this a good idea? & Is it true?

I honor those who served for War and Peace.

The U.S. military spends $1,039,531,000,000 which is $1.98 million per minute. Can't we make peace in a better, not war?

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.