A Bibi-Barack Collision?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Creators Syndicate
by Pat Buchanan - (Opinion) January 27, 2009 - 1:00am

"Where there is no solution, there is no problem," geostrategist James Burnham once wryly observed. Ex-Sen. George Mitchell, the latest U.S. negotiator to take up the Palestine portfolio, may discover what it was that Burnham meant. For Israel's three-week war on Gaza, where Palestinians died at a rate of 100 to one to Israelis, appears to have been, like Israel's wars in Lebanon, another Pyrrhic victory for the Jewish state.

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The Bullets in My In-Box
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Ethan Bronner - January 24, 2009 - 1:00am

Faisal Husseini, a Palestinian leader who died at the start of this decade, used to tell a story about his first visit to Israel. The 1967 war had just ended, borders were suddenly opened and he took a drive to Tel Aviv, where at some point he found himself detained by an Israeli policeman. Questions and answers ensued. At one point the policeman said to him, “As a proud Zionist, I must tell you ....” At which Mr. Husseini burst out laughing.

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This Is Not a Test
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Thomas L. Friedman - (Opinion) January 24, 2009 - 1:00am

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. “Guy walks into a bar ...” No, not that one — this one: “This is the most critical year ever for Palestinian-Israeli diplomacy. It is five minutes to midnight. If we don’t get diplomacy back on track soon, it will be the end of the two-state solution.” I’ve heard that line almost every year for the last 20, and I’ve never bought it. Well, today, I’m buying it.

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Saudi patience is running out
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Financial Times
by Turki al-Faisal - (Opinion) January 23, 2009 - 1:00am

In my decades as a public servant, I have strongly promoted the Arab-Israeli peace process. During recent months, I argued that the peace plan proposed by Saudi Arabia could be implemented under an Obama administration if the Israelis and Palestinians both accepted difficult compromises. I told my audiences this was worth the energies of the incoming administration for, as the late Indian diplomat Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit said: “The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.”

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Obama Shifts Mideast Politics Into High Gear
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Middle East Times
by Claude Salhani - January 23, 2009 - 1:00am

Just two days after his inauguration U.S. President Barack Obama began to move forward on his electoral promise to work on the Middle East issues. Obama's first telephone call as president of the United States was to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whom Obama assured of his administration's interest in finding a lasting and just solution to the Middle East crisis.

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Obama's Messages to the Arabs: With the Two-State Solution and against the "Jordanian Option"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - (Opinion) January 23, 2009 - 1:00am

When change came to the White House last Tuesday, as Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as President of the United States, this unique man took it upon himself to call for taking responsibility and "setting aside childish things", asserting that America during his presidency will not seek isolationism but will take the responsibility of world leadership. He extends his hand but only if the hand that meets it is not a clenched fist.

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The One-State Solution
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Muammar Qaddafi - (Opinion) January 21, 2009 - 1:00am

THE shocking level of the last wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence, which ended with this weekend’s cease-fire, reminds us why a final resolution to the so-called Middle East crisis is so important. It is vital not just to break this cycle of destruction and injustice, but also to deny the religious extremists in the region who feed on the conflict an excuse to advance their own causes.

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Both Hamas and Israel claim victory following 22 days of death and destruction
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Australian
by John Lyons - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

ISRAELI troops began withdrawing from the Gaza Strip yesterday as both sides agreed to a ceasefire and both sides claimed victory in the 22-day conflict. No air strikes, rockets or major clashes were reported in the territory, giving Gazans their first night of complete peace since the start of Israel's massive assault on Hamas in their stronghold on December 27. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel wanted to leave "as fast as possible", while Hamas claimed it had defeated Israel in "a heavenly victory".

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Gaza divide dogs Arab economic summit
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Rania El Gamal, Ulf Laessing - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Arab leaders agreed at a summit on Tuesday to help rebuild the battered Gaza Strip, but differences persisted over finding a united stance on the three-week Israeli offensive that killed more than 1,300 people. The conflict in Gaza underscored the Arab divide between those allied to Egypt and Saudi Arabia on one side, and those allied to Syria and Qatar on the other.

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Meeting of Arab leaders on Gaza ends in discord
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press
by Diana Elias - January 20, 2009 - 1:00am

Arab leaders trying to come up with a plan to rebuild Gaza ended their meeting Tuesday in discord, unable to agree on whether to back Egyptian peace efforts or even set up a joint reconstruction fund for the devastated Palestinian territory.

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