'failure Risks Devastating Consequences' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Review Of Books by Zbigniew Brzezinski, Lee Hamilton , Carla Hills , Nancy Kassebaum-baker , Thomas R. Pickering, Brent Scowcroft - (Commentary) November 8, 2007 - 3:27pm The following letter on the Middle East peace conference scheduled for Annapolis, Maryland, in late November, was sent by its signers on October 10 to President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The statement is a joint initiative of the US/Middle East Project, Inc. (General Brent Scowcroft, chairman, International Board, and Henry Siegman, president), the International Crisis Group (Gareth Evans, president), and the New America Foundation/American Strategy Program (Steven Clemons, director). » Read more

Mideast Religious Leaders Say They Vital To Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Deborah Charles - November 8, 2007 - 3:22pm In an unusual joint appearance, senior Israeli and Palestinian religious leaders said on Wednesday they were not a roadblock to peace in the Middle East but a vital part of the process. Dressed in traditional religious garb, the chief rabbis of Israel sat alongside Muslim leaders and Christian patriarchs and said they had agreed on steps to help resolve the conflict. » Read more

Gaza’s Reflection In A Foul Threat ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Steven Erlanger - November 8, 2007 - 3:20pm Fahmi al-Abrak, 70, was at home on March 27 when a lagoon of human waste broke through its sand embankment and hurtled downhill, inundating this poor village of Bedouins in northern Gaza. “It rose to here in 15 seconds,” he said, pointing to a discolored line on the walls, four feet above ground. Five people were drowned when the overflow pool for a lake of water and human waste failed in March. Residents of Umm al Nasser pulled belongings from their homes after the wave of sewage struck their village in March. » Read more

Israeli Settlements Burden Peace Push ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press by Amy Teibel - November 8, 2007 - 3:18pm The pounding chatter of jackhammers echoes over a wind-swept West Bank hilltop as workers lay bricks at a new apartment building rising in this sprawling Jewish settlement. The Israeli government says it's ready to make a deal that would give Palestinians their own state. But realities on the ground — outlined in a report Wednesday showing vigorous Israeli construction in the West Bank — hold important implications for the latest U.S. peace push. » Read more