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Turmoil in the Middle East

President Barack Obama has inherited a nation entrenched in wars amidst a world of instability and
the Middle East newly aflame with violence. While disputes in this region may seem eternal, and failed
peace efforts the norm, there are reasons to be optimistic. If President Obama joins with forces for peace
and stability and acts boldly, his presidency could have a marked impact on world affairs. Stabilizing the
Middle East will require tough diplomacy, patience, determination, and a willingness to seek solutions
that go beyond those tried in the past. The hard work, though, may be well worth the result. In the words
of the late Indian diplomat Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit, “The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed
in war.”

In Iran In Israel
Gaza is the smoke, Iran is the fire World leaders seek stronger mideast peace deal
By Bob Beckel & Cal Thomas 2-3 By Jim Michaels 9 - 10

A Quandry for President Obama Mideast talks 30 years later

By USA TODAY 4 By USA TODAY 10

Obama’s reticence on vote stirs stew of opinion Hamas is battered but resilient
By David Jackson 5-6 By Jim Michael 11 - 13

White House expressing concern but maintaining Israels’s tactics in Gaza invite Palestinian backlash
its distance
Debate 14 - 15
By Michael B. Smith 7
Obama’s input
In Iraq Obama sets terms for mideast peace
Six years after invasion, Iraqis slow to regain Wire Reports 16
confidence
By Aamer Madhani 7-8 Comments from around the world on address
World responses 17 - 18
Americans consider the future in light of the
Iraq war Critical Inquiry
By USA TODAY 8 Discussion Questions and
Additional Resources 19 - 21

© Copyright 2009 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co., Inc. All rights reserved.
As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Thursday, January 8, 2009 Page 11A
Gaza is the smoke, Iran is the fire
Cal and Bob agree that peace in the Middle East hinges more on Iran’s nuclear
threat than the ongoing battle between Hamas and Israel. Obama’s first test in
this region could set the course for years to come.
Cal Thomas is a conservative columnist. Bob Beckel is a liberal
Democratic strategist. But as longtime friends, they can often
find common ground on issues that lawmakers in Washing-
ton cannot. They co-wrote the book Common Ground: How
to Stop the Partisan War That Is Destroying America.
Today: Crisis in the Middle East.
Bob: In our last column, Cal — the one about New Year’s
predictions — you noted that Barack Obama would face an
international crisis early on in his administration. He hasn’t
yet taken the oath of office, but you’re already right. The Is-
rael/Hamas battle in and around the Gaza Strip has grown
into a major confrontation that will test his administration
right away. Hamas started the fight with indiscriminate
missile attacks on southern Israel, and the Israelis seem
intent on ending the fight once and for all. A U.S. president
can count on dealing with Israel and her enemies battling;
it’s as predictable as the sun rising and birds chirping.
Cal: Unfortunately, this won’t be Obama’s only internation-
al crisis. Perhaps not since Franklin Roosevelt, who was
handed the Great Depression and a growing threat from
Nazi Germany, has an incoming president faced so many
immediate challenges. I don’t envy him.
Bob: No kidding!
Cal: Some of Obama’s top aides have said he intends to
make Middle East peace a “priority.” Good luck with that.
So many presidents have entered that swamp, including
President Bush, and have nothing to show for it but frus-
tration. That’s because neither America, nor any other
country or world body, can reverse the religious doctrine
taught to several generations that Allah considers Jews less
than human and wants them dead and Israel destroyed.
How does one negotiate with people who embrace such
beliefs?
Bob: Not every Muslim in the Mideast embraces those be-
liefs. There are indications that younger Palestinians are not
as wedded to the destruction of Israel. One reason Hamas
agreed to a six-month cease-fire with Israel prior to the
current violence was because people in Gaza were feeling
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
the effects of sanctions put in place after Hamas won the
2006 elections. That has nothing to do with Allah.
Cal: That so-called truce was used by Hamas to dig tunnels
through which they smuggled fighters, weapons and am-
munition. Members of Hamas and their terrorist cousins
are the illegitimate sons of the Nazis whose job the ter-
rorists think they have been commissioned by their God
to finish.
Bob: What about the Israeli response, though, Cal? Frankly
the amount of bombing is disproportionate to the number
of attacks by Hamas. Should the United States be encour-
aging this relentless barrage, in which it appears many Pal-
estinian civilians are being killed?
Cal: So if you kill two or three Israelis per day, that is pro-
portionate? The terrorists deliberately hide among civil-
ians knowing what the world’s reaction will be when Israel
strikes back. This is a familiar strategy, and the Palestin-
ians effectively exploit the news media’s portrayal of these
retaliatory attacks. Do you think for one minute that the
United States would worry about disproportionate attacks
if terrorists lobbed missiles at U.S. cities from across the
Mexican border? Of course not. We’d annihilate them and
send a message. We’d make the Israelis look restrained,
and rightly so.
Bob: You’re probably right, but what’s this all mean for the
United States and the greater Middle East? As you correct-
ly noted, every U.S. president dances this dance. Mideast
peace, honest broker, blah blah blah. How do we get past
this Groundhog Day situation?
Cal: The United States needs to continue as an honest bro-
ker, but doing so does not mean that Hamas and Israel are
equals. They’re not militarily or, certainly, morally. There’s
no equivalency. Even so, Obama needs to keep his eye on
the bigger picture, and that means Iran — the greatest
threat not only to the region, but to the world.
Bob: So what should the Obama administration do that
hasn’t been tried already?
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As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Thursday, January 8, 2009 Page 11A
Cal: There is no hope as long as Israel’s enemies believe
their God wants them to kill Jews. War may not be the
best answer, but it can at least wound the terrorists and
frustrate their objectives. Instead of taking a Jimmy Carter-
like approach and embracing those, such as Hamas, who
employ terrorist tactics, the Obama team ought to give
Israel a free hand to wipe out those who threaten her. It
should then support a declaration that there will be no
more concessions until these groups not only cease fire,
but disarm.
Bob: What about Iran?
Cal: Then it must come up with a plan for dealing with Iran,
which is supplying Hamas with Russian-made rockets and
other weapons. Peace through strength. Ronald Reagan,
whom Obama has had kind words for, understood this.
Let’s hope our president-elect does, too. Strength is the
one thing Israel’s enemies, and ours, respect.
Bob: Yes, the Obama administration should encourage Is-
rael to aggressively defend itself, but the U.S. must — at
least publicly — maintain a safe distance from the Israelis
so that once the dust settles, we can bring both sides to
the table. The Bush administration has been too closely
aligned with Israel, and as such, Secretary of State Condo-
leezza Rice’s trips to the region were about as fruitful as
an orange grove in Canada. Obama and incoming secretary
of State Hillary Clinton have an opening here. Israel has
two weeks to hammer Hamas and punish them for their
provocations. But come Jan. 20, real peace overtures must
go forward. The loser, if there is some sort of agreement,
would be Iran.
Cal: This all really does come back to Iran. There are few
options with that regime: Either the U.S. finds a way, with
our allies, to pressure Iran into abandoning nukes, or Is-
rael will have to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. If Israel
is forced to do so, any hope for a comprehensive Mideast
peace will be set back decades. The Obama administration
should not go as far as encouraging Israel to try to control
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
Gaza. If Gaza explodes in the months ahead and becomes
a full-scale battle, the United States will have little hope of
rallying international support against Iran.
Bob: You’re right. That’s why, as Obama has suggested, we
need a vigorous diplomacy while not removing other op-
tions from the table.
Cal: None of Israel’s many concessions have brought it any
closer to a peace settlement. I am convinced each conces-
sion has made the terrorists want more. Let them fight it
out. Diplomacy might work after one side scores a decisive
victory or all sides are exhausted.
Bob: If only I could believe there would be a decisive vic-
tory, but it is hard to see how. Cal, you and I agree that
the Obama foreign policy should not be weak-kneed and
simply about making nice. And I don’t think we’ll get that
with the team he has assembled. But we also agree that
though Gaza is today’s crisis, Iran is the crisis that awaits
us in years to come and must be the focus of any action in
the region right now. We have a strong national security
reason to keep nukes out of Iranian hands. If Israel attacks
Iran, the few moderate Mideast countries that support an
Israeli/Palestinian accord will desert the peace process.
What say you?
Cal: We may ultimately have to live with a nuclear Iran,
using a deterrent strategy similar to the one employed
against the Soviet Union. But if Iran acquires nukes, let
the word go forth that an attack by Iran on Israel will be
considered an attack on the United States, prompting an
immediate and disastrous (for Iran) response. President
Barack Obama would have to make that decision. But he
must enter the Middle East from a position of strength, not
weakness. He must remember that his entry into the Gaza
crisis is his only chance to make a first impression. I know
that I speak for all Americans in wishing him the best in
this historic endeavor.
Page 3
As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Friday, June 19, 2009 Page 11A
Opinionline:
A quandry for President Obama
What people are saying about Iran’s disputed election
The Boston Globe, in an editorial: “There may never
be absolute proof of the massive vote fraud that Iranians
are now protesting. But it would require vast reservoirs of
credulity to believe the announced result: that incumbent
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won nearly 63% of first-
round ballots cast. … Disenchanted Iranians … are calling
it a coup d’etat. … This mockery of democracy creates a
quandary for President Obama. He has invited Iran’s rulers,
whoever they may be, to enter into a dialogue. … It is Iran’s
pursuit of fissile material needed for nuclear weapons that
makes the stakes so high. Because of that, Obama has little
choice but to keep his offer to negotiate with Iran on the
table no matter who is declared the winner of the election
there.”
Bret Stephens, columnist, The Wall Street Journal: “In
Cairo two weeks ago, Obama trumpeted ‘my commitment
… to governments that reflect the will of the people.’ He
also lamented that ‘the United States played a role in the
overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian govern-
ment.’ Yet here is his administration disavowing the first
of these commitments while acquiescing in the overthrow
— before it can even be installed — of another demo-
cratically elected Iranian government. Now a presidency
that’s supposed to be all about hope is suddenly in cyni-
cal realpolitik mode — the only ‘hope’ it means to keep
alive being a ‘grand bargain’ over Iran’s nuclear program.”
Patrick J. Buchanan, columnist, The Miami Herald:
“Obama should not heed the war hawks howling for con-
frontation now. … U.S. fulminations would change noth-
ing in Tehran. But they would enable the regime to divert
attention to U.S. meddling in Iran’s affairs and portray the
candidate robbed in this election, Mir Hossein Mousavi, as a
poodle of the Americans. … Obama, with his outstretched
hand, his message to Iran on its national day, his admis-
sion that the United States had a hand in the 1953 coup in
Tehran, his assurances that we recognize Iran’s right to nu-
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
clear power, succeeded. He stripped the ayatollah and Ah-
madinejad of their clinching argument that America is out
to destroy Iran and they are indispensable to Iran’s defense.”
Rick Santorum, former U.S. senator, The Philadel-
phia Inquirer: “Obama’s policy of engagement has been
rebuffed. Moreover, the (Iranian) regime sees it as a
sign of weakness, and dissenters see it as an act of be-
trayal. … Last week’s election sparked genuine out-
bursts of opposition. Tragically, Obama has served up
high-flown platitudes about fair elections instead of be-
ing squarely behind a budding revolution that could
eliminate the most dangerous regime on the planet.”
Michael Walzer, columnist, The New Republic: “Reading
about the mass demonstrations in Iran, my first thought
isn’t about what the U.S. government should do or what
Obama should say. It is about what the rest of us should
do and say. … Confronting mass protests in Iran, where at
least some of the protesters, perhaps many of them, are
our political friends, let’s help them through our parties,
and unions, and religious groups, and magazines. Let’s
write about them, publish their stories, raise money for
their activities, condemn their arrests, hold meetings, sign
petitions, picket Iranian embassies in every country where
we can mobilize the picketers. … This is an ideological
struggle, and that kind of struggle isn’t first of all the busi-
ness of governments. It is the business of politically com-
mitted men and women.”
Page 4
As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Friday, June 19, 2009 Page 5A
Obama’s reticence on vote stirs stew of opinion
Words fly via Twitter, news media, experts
By David Jackson, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — President Obama is taking heat for his
measured comments about the post-election protests in
Iran.
Obama has said he is troubled by violence against protest-
ers in Tehran but insists it’s up to Iranians to settle their
election dispute themselves. For that, he’s accused of med-
dling by the government of Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad.
Meanwhile, Republicans such as John McCain, Obama’s ri-
val in last year’s U.S. election, accuse the president of not
doing enough to help democratic supporters in Iran.
Obama “really is up against a rock and a hard place on this,”
said Suzanne Maloney, author of Iran’s Long Reach: Iran As
a Pivotal State in the Muslim World. “He can hurt as much
as he can help.”
Maloney said Obama is playing it right because Iran would
use stronger words by Obama to cast supporters of Iranian
opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi as U.S. puppets.
McCain and other critics said Obama is missing a chance to
isolate the militant Islamist regime in Tehran and promote
democracy.
McCain used Twitter, a networking website also being used
heavily by Iranian protesters, on Thursday to say: “Mass
peaceful demonstrations in Iran today, let’s support them
& stand up for democracy & freedom! President & his Ad-
min should do the same.”
Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the 2004 Democratic
presidential nominee, defended Obama on Thursday on
the editorial page of The New York Times. Kerry wrote
that an aggressive approach, as advocated by McCain,
would be seen in Iran as support for Mousavi. If the U.S.
really wants to help, Kerry wrote, “we have to understand
how our words can be manipulated and used against us to
strengthen the clerical establishment.”
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
Obama made no comments about Iran on Thursday, and he
has spoken only twice about the election and ensuing vio-
lence since protests began last weekend. “I stand strongly
with the universal principle that people’s voices should be
heard and not suppressed,” he said earlier in the week.
Fariborz Ghadar, a vice minister for the shah of Iran in the
1970s, said Obama is better off saying as little as possible,
lest Iran’s rulers again cast the U.S. as “the Great Satan.” He
added that it’s hard to know what’s really going on, and
“we don’t even know who’s on whose side” in the faction-
ridden Iranian government.
Ghadar said Obama may well feel a kinship with the pro-
testers, who, like his own supporters, tend to be young and
use the latest communications tools to get their messages
out.
“I can feel what President Obama must be feeling,” said
Ghadar, a senior scholar at the Center for Strategic & Inter-
national Studies in Washington. “Having said that, speak-
ing out right now would be counterproductive.”
Daniel Senor, a foreign policy adviser in the George W.
Bush administration, said Obama should speak more force-
fully for democracy. He noted that Iran already is accusing
the U.S. of interference and would do so under any circum-
stances.
Democratic movements are best sustained through “inter-
national isolation” of repressive governments, Senor add-
ed, as happened in the Ukraine after its elections in 2004.
The best way to get other countries to speak out against
Iran is presidential leadership. “The international commu-
nity,” he added, “will not mobilize unless the United States
president weighs in.”
Page 5
As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Friday, June 19, 2009 Page 5A
White House expressing concern but
maintaining its distance
Day What Happened in Iran
Saturday The Interior Ministry announces that incumbent
6/13/2009 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the June 12 presiden-
tial election with 63% of the vote. Opposition leader
Mir Hossein Mousavi charges fraud. His supporters
clash with government police
Sunday The worst rioting in a decade continues with the
6/14/2009 second day of pro-Mousavi demonstrations. Ah-
madinejad says the election was fair. The govern-
ment blocks some Internet sites and text messaging
systems used by protesters.
Monday Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, asks
6/15/2009 the Guardian Council to review claims of vote rig-
ging. Mousavi makes his first public appearance
since the election. State-run media report that
seven people were killed in clashes between the
pro-government militia and thousands of Mousavi
supporters in central Tehran.
Tuesday Thousands of Iranians hold rival demonstrations in
6/16/2009 Tehran’s streets. Ahmadinejad travels to Russia. The
government restricts foreign news media to cover-
ing only authorized events. The ayatollah calls for
unity.
Wednesday Iran accuses the United States of meddling. Opposi-
6/17/2009 tion supporters continue to protest while the gov-
ernment continues to crack down on dissent. Mem-
bers of Iran’s national soccer team, playing a World
Cup qualifying match in South Korea, wear green
armbands in support of Mousavi.
Thursday Hundreds of thousands of black-clad protesters
6/18/2009 join Mousavi to mourn slain demonstrators, defy-
ing Iran’s supreme leader. Some chant, “Death to the
dictator.”
Original graphic by Michael B. Smith, USA TODAY
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
Obama administration comment
“Like the rest of the world, we were impressed by
the vigorous debate and enthusiasm that this elec-
tion generated, particularly among young Iranians.
We continue to monitor the entire situation close-
ly, including reports of irregularities.” — White
House spokesman Robert Gibbs
“There’s some real doubt. ... We’re going to with-
hold comment until we have a ... thorough review
of the whole process and how they react in the
aftermath.” — Vice President Biden
“It is up to Iranians to make decisions about who
Iran’s leaders will be. ...Having said all that, I am
deeply troubled by the violence that I’ve been
seeing on television.” — President Obama
“It’s not productive, given the history of U.S.-Ira-
nian relations, to be seen as meddling. ... When I
see violence directed at peaceful protesters, when
I see peaceful dissent being suppressed ... it is of
concern to me, and it’s of concern to the American
people.” —­President Obama
“The outcome of any election should reflect the
will of the people. And it is for the Iranians to de-
termine how they resolve this internal protest
concerning the outcome of the recent election.
But it is a fundamental value that the United States
holds.” — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton
“The American people and this government are
not going to pick the next leader of Iran. ... We
have to ensure that we express our views ... about
ensuring that people can demonstrate (and) have
their causes and concerns heard.” — White House
spokesman Robert Gibbs
Page 6
As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Friday, March 20, 2009 Page 9A

Six years after invasion, Iraqis slow to regain

confidence
By Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY anyone — Iraqi or American — believes realistically that by
2012 our army will be good enough to protect the people
BAGHDAD — Inside a cabinet in his motorcycle repair internally or to secure our borders.”
shop, Kadhim Sharif stores the snapshots of him swinging
a sledgehammer at the Saddam Hussein statue in Firdos Amin and others complain that the Iraqi government is still
Square in 2003, moments before U.S. troops toppled the unable to produce enough electricity to meet Iraq’s grow-
monument in one of the most iconic events of the war. ing demand, ethnic and sectarian rivalries still beset Iraq’s
political scene, and although the level of violence has di-
Thursday, as Iraq marked the sixth anniversary of the start minished, bombings and assassinations remain common-
of the U.S. invasion, Sharif brought out the photos and the place.
sledgehammer and recalled the exhilaration he felt that
day and the ache of disappointment that has nagged him At the Pentagon and on the ground in Iraq, military leaders
since. have cautioned against drawing down too quickly.
“I felt out of control with emotion and filled with happi-
ness,” said Sharif, 51, as he showed a visitor photos of the The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. Ray Odierno, persuad-
day in April 2003 that marked the fall of the old regime. ed Obama to remove only two U.S. combat brigades before
“Now I feel regret for all that Iraq has suffered since then. the end of this year to keep enough American troops on
At that time, no one thought it would end up like this.” the ground in the leadup to national parliamentary elec-
tions scheduled for December.
As the U.S. military begins its seventh year in Iraq, an end- Odierno and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have warned
game is in sight, albeit one that would maintain a U.S. pres- that the Iraqis have much work to do on the political front
ence in Iraq until the end of 2011. to make certain the relative stability is maintained.

President Obama has said he will withdraw all combat “I think … that the roots of democracy or representa-
troops by August 2010 and plans to pull out the remaining tive government, if you want to call it that, in Iraq are still
U.S. troops by the end of the following year. relatively shallow,” Gates said Wednesday. “There is still a
need for further reconciliation and ensuring that … some
Talk of such an exit strategy has been greeted with a mix- of the issues between the Arabs and the Kurds are resolved
ture of disbelief and concern on the Baghdad streets. peacefully.”

Since violence plummeted to the lowest levels since 2003, For U.S. troops, many of whom have served as many as four
the U.S. military focus has shifted in recent months away tours in Iraq, the war is entering an unfamiliar stage.
from combat operations toward missions of training and
equipping Iraqi forces and rebuilding Iraq’s tattered infra- Sgt. 1st Class Alan Ezelle, whose Oregon National Guard unit
structure. is set to return to Iraq next month, said his commanders
have stressed that Iraq is not the same place it was when
The progress on the security front has resulted in a great- the troops were last deployed to Baghdad in 2004-05.
er sense of normalcy in the capital, but it has yet to bring
many Iraqis the confidence that their own security forces Ezelle said his unit, an element of the 41st Infantry Brigade
and politicians will be ready to take sole control of govern- Combat Team, regularly faced heavy combat and ended its
ing and protection in the near future. tour by handing security of an eastern Baghdad sector to
ill-prepared Iraqi forces.
“Right now, things in Iraq are 70% good and 30% bad, which
is much better than it was just two years ago,” said Azher This time, the unit will probably be tasked with a mission
Amin, 45, a steel fabricator. “But if the Americans leave of securing U.S. convoys.
too quickly, the situation will reverse itself. I don’t think

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As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Friday, March 20, 2009 Page 9A

The soldiers expect to find their Iraqi counterparts to be
much more professional, Ezelle said.
As the unit awaited deployment orders, Ezelle said, many
of the soldiers under his charge hoped they would draw
Afghanistan, where they thought they might be of more
use.
“As infantry, it’s natural for soldiers to want to go where
they could use what they were trained to do,” Ezelle, 41, of
Springfield, Ore., said. “I’ve been reminding the guys that
this (Iraq) is an important mission. We might be able to say
we were there when we started to wrap this thing up.”

As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Thursday, March 13, 2008 Page 5A

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 8

As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Monday, January 19, 2009 Page 8A
World leaders seek stronger Mideast peace deal
By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY
CAIRO — The cease-fire in Gaza could present new oppor-
tunities for achieving a broader peace in the Middle East,
analysts said Sunday, despite concern over unresolved
issues such as how to seal the smuggling tunnels Hamas
militants use to arm themselves.
Fighting in Gaza largely stopped Sunday after Hamas of-
ficials announced they would agree to a one-week cease-
fire, a day after Israel unilaterally halted its three-week of-
fensive.
It is a fragile peace. Although Israeli troops began pulling
out of Gaza on Sunday, the Israeli government still warns it
will respond forcefully if Hamas resumes firing rockets into
Israel. Diplomats from around the world, including United
Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, were gathered at
an Egyptian resort to try to forge a more durable peace
deal before new violence erupts.
Hundreds of tunnels running under Egypt’s 9-mile border
with Gaza, used to smuggle everything from livestock to
fuel and weapons, were shaping up as a major sticking
point in negotiations. Israel says it has destroyed 60% to
70% of the tunnels, which were built to get around trade
sanctions, but some Gaza residents say the war has done
little to stop commerce, illicit or otherwise.
“Even at this time, there are people working in the tun-
nels,” Diaa Hassan, a tunnel worker on the Gazan side of
the border, said Sunday.
He said many tunnels, which often have lighting and com-
plex infrastructure, go down as far as 30 yards — and were
impervious to bombardment from Israeli planes. “Those
(tunnels) do not get destroyed,” Hassan said.
Israel has proposed that foreign troops patrol the border,
and the United States and European countries have offered
technical assistance to monitor the tunnels.
Egypt has balked at the proposals. “It would look like an-
other occupying force,” said Abdel Monem Said Aly, direc-
tor of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Stud-
ies, based in Cairo. “It’s a very sensitive issue in Egypt.”
The tunnel system has grown so sophisticated over the
years that Hamas militants had even set up customs check-
points to collect fees, Aly said. He said the system has lots
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
of pathways so that goods can still be moved even if some
tunnels are blocked.
Despite the problems, Aly and some other longtime ob-
servers of the Middle East process said the Gaza war could
present an unforeseen boost to the 6-decade-old quest for
a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Among reasons for optimism:
uHamas’ leadership, caught off-guard by Israel’s offensive,
may now consider pursuing a more pragmatic course with
Israel, said Mohamed Kadry Said, a security analyst and
former major general in the Egyptian military.
Through Hamas’ two decades of existence, the group has
made Israel’s destruction its main goal. Hamas is classified
as a terrorist group by the United States.
“Rhetoric is important, but I don’t think it is reflected in
what will be said in a closed room,” Said said. “Maybe we
will see another Hamas, one that Israel will be more will-
ing to work with.”
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who was hosting
cease-fire negotiations, said Sunday that the Gaza conflict
reinforces the need for a “just and comprehensive peace”
in the region. Ban said: “We need to put this Middle East
peace process back on track.”
uThe street protests in the Arab world were not as violent
or broad as they could have been, and the West Bank, the
other Palestinian territory, was relatively quiet, Aly said.
uSyria and Iran, Hamas’ chief backers, were largely on the
sidelines during the conflict. Hamas “miscalculated” how
the world would react, according to Said. “Hamas is alone
now,” he said.
Other observers were less hopeful, citing anger in the Arab
world over civilian casualties. “We will wake up on the
morning after the war to a situation filled with hatred,”
wrote Eyal Megged, a commentator in the Israeli newspa-
per Ma’ariv.
Even Aly was hedging his bets. “Either we are heading to-
ward a serious peace process or heading for another cri-
sis,” he said.
Contributing: Theodore May in Rafah, Gaza; and wire reports
Page 9
As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Tuesday, May 19, 2009 Page 10A
Mideast talks 30 years later
Our Opinion - USA TODAY
From the American perspective, attempting to negoti-
ate peace in the Middle East comes with a certain sense
of déjá vu. The leaders may change. Monday, President
Obama met for the first time with new Israeli Prime Minis-
ter Benjamin Netanyahu. But the basic peace formula stays
the same: Israelis need security. Palestinians need a state.
The question: how to get there — particularly at a time
when Israel has veered off track?
At best, Netanyahu shows little interest in creating a Pales-
tinian state. He wants to concentrate instead on prevent-
ing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon that would
threaten Israel. Complicating matters, Palestinians are war-
ring amongst themselves. Hamas, a terrorist organization,
rules the Gaza Strip, and Fatah, led by President Mahmoud
Abbas, the West Bank.
All this makes peace prospects seem as distant as 30 years
ago, before the Camp David accords between Israel and
Egypt ushered in an era of promise. But on Monday, Netan-
yahu at least offered a place to begin. He told Obama he is
ready for peace negotiations. He has previously talked of
improving Palestinians’ living conditions.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
By focusing efforts on the West Bank, Netanyahu could
help Abbas build a peaceful state. Similar steps in Gaza
could undermine Hamas. Both could reduce pressures that
drive young Palestinians toward terrorism.
Netanyahu might be ready to take small steps: easing eco-
nomic and travel restrictions that keep Palestinians dirt
poor, for example. But that is not enough. For any effort
to be credible, he must also put a stop to the continued
building of settlements on the West Bank, and negotiate
for a Palestinian state in good faith (as opposed to paying
lip service under U.S. pressure).
Israeli leaders have made such courageous steps be-
fore. Talks brokered by President Clinton in 2000 almost
achieved a Palestinian state, until former Palestinian lead-
er Yasser Arafat balked, demolishing the peace process. Ex-
pecting a breakthrough now would be naive. But history
says change in the Middle East can come suddenly.
The leaders and conditions have to be right — such as at
Camp David or when Arafat lost power to moderates af-
ter backing Saddam Hussein in the Persian Gulf War. They
never happen, though, without meticulous groundwork
laid by the United States. Today, that means providing the
Palestinians with a fresh path to independence that can
also make Israel more secure.
Page 10
Page 15
As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Friday, January 23, 2009 Page 1A
Hamas is battered, but resilient
Gaza tension shows scope of the challenge for Obama
By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY
GAZA CITY — Police Capt. Adel el-Shami’s new office is a
chair in an alley. His previous one “is now four floors un-
derground,” he says grimly, since Israeli aircraft turned the
police station a block away to rubble.
He doesn’t seem to mind his new digs, though. On Thurs-
day, el-Shami sat under a grimy awning and issued orders
using a cellphone and a radio stuffed in his camouflage
vest. Two AK-47s were stacked on a wall and six maga-
zines filled with bullets were lined neatly on the ground.
His subordinates were on patrol to prevent looting, but he
said the city has been calm since Israeli troops withdrew
this week.
From his perch, the result of the war is clear: The Hamas
militant group to which el-Shami belongs is battered, but
still in charge of the Palestinian territory of Gaza — and it
doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.
“No one can take the government from us,” says el-Shami,
42. “It’s ours forever.”
The resilience of Hamas, which Washington classifies as
a terrorist organization, highlights how hard it will be for
President Obama to achieve his goal of “a lasting peace” in
the Middle East, a subject on which he expanded Thursday
for the first time in office.
As his special envoy to the region, Obama named George
Mitchell, a former senator who has undertaken a range of
tasks from investigating steroid use in Major League Base-
ball to helping negotiate peace in Northern Ireland.
The three-week war in Gaza helps show why 11 of Obama’s
predecessors — going back to Harry Truman, who was
president when Israel was created in 1948 — have been
unable to deliver lasting peace to the region.
Both sides in the war are claiming victories — Hamas sur-
vived Israel’s onslaught with its power intact, while Israel
has stopped Hamas from firing rockets into its territory —
but the overall result has embittered people on both sides,
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
left a devastating human toll, and likely made reconcilia-
tion even more distant than before, analysts say.
“There’s no doubt that Obama is committed to doing some-
thing ... but I think that, after Gaza, a full-fledged peace
process between Israelis and Palestinians just isn’t likely
in the near term,” said Yossi Alpher, a former defense ad-
viser to Israel. “Obama will probably have to focus more on
conflict management, on trying to ensure hostilities don’t
break out again.”
The region’s ever-shifting politics will complicate matters:
Israeli elections in February will result in a new govern-
ment there, while Alpher says the comparatively moder-
ate Fatah leadership of the other Palestinian territory, the
West Bank, faces an uncertain future as well because of
unrest over perceived corruption.
In fact, the short-term future seems to be the clearest in
Gaza, where there hasn’t been widespread looting or any
visible power struggles with internal rivals including Fa-
tah, which Hamas kicked out of Gaza in a violent uprising
in 2007.
Stores, restaurants and markets have reopened. Work-
ers are busy restringing power lines and shopkeepers are
sweeping rubble from the sidewalks in front of their busi-
nesses.
In short, the status quo is being restored — and the pos-
sibility that the offensive might result in Hamas’ collapse,
and the rise of a group more sympathetic to Israel’s exis-
tence, seems to be fading.
“From Hamas’ point of view, they won because they are
still in authority,” says Abed al-Rahim al-Shalah, 36, a fi-
nancial auditor in Gaza.
A politically stronger Hamas
Obama has said he wants to stop the humanitarian suffer-
ing in Gaza, but giving aid to the territory has its own risks,
analysts say.
Page 11
As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Friday, January 23, 2009 Page 1A
“Every dollar to Gaza stands to be a huge benefit to Hamas,”
says Aaron David Miller, a former Middle East adviser to six
U.S. secretaries of state and author of The Much Too Prom-
ised Land: America’s Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace.
Abdel Monem Said Aly, director of the Al-Ahram Center for
Political and Strategic Studies, a think tank in neighboring
Egypt, says “Hamas lost some of its (military) power,” in
the conflict, “but as a political movement it got more.”
Hamas is not popular in Gaza, some Palestinians say. But
it remains the strongest organization in the territory, ex-
ercising control over everything from health clinics to the
police since it kicked out Fatah. “Most people don’t like
Hamas, but they can’t do anything,” al-Shalah says. “They
are scaring and frightening everyone.”
Hamas’ interior minister and some of its top military lead-
ers were killed in Israeli airstrikes, and the rest remain in
hiding. A guard outside the coastal home of Ismail Haniya,
Hamas’ senior leader in Gaza, said the family had to leave
the house but under normal circumstances would be glad
to speak.
El-Shami, the police captain, said Hamas’ senior leadership
is able to issue orders and remain in control even while
out of public view. While talking with a visitor, he was
interrupted by gunfire down the street. Immediately, he
dispatched some officers, who grabbed their AK-47s and
sprinted toward the street.
The men came back to report the shooting was from a fu-
neral procession of a “martyr” — one of the roughly 1,300
Palestinians who the United Nations says were killed dur-
ing the war. Mourners marched down the street carrying a
coffin and firing weapons into the air. “Everything is under
control,” el-Shami declares.
Many police facilities and government buildings lie in ruins
around the city. The parliament building has been reduced
to rubble. Many homes north of Gaza City have been de-
stroyed, leaving families homeless.
Kunan Ubaid, deputy chairman of the Palestinian Energy
Authority, said 200,000 homes in Gaza have no power and
many others have only intermittent electricity.
“We don’t have the supplies to fix anything,” Ubaid said,
as he juggled a cellphone and land line and monitored re-
ports on repairs to power lines and transformers.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
Even so, residents of Gaza, where 1.5 million people live
in a territory roughly twice the size of Washington, D.C.,
seemed eager to ignore the remaining problems and get
on with daily routines. Thursday, donkey carts laden with
vegetables jockeyed for space with cars and fans. Markets
were full with fresh strawberries and other produce.
“I’m opening now because I want to get back to a normal
life,” says Rami el-Khaldi, who owns a small flower shop
stocked with plastic arrangements. “During the war no
one was concerned about flowers.”
Dim hopes for peace
Israeli public opinion about the Gaza war remained ex-
tremely favorable during the war, with 94% of those sur-
veyed supporting the operation in a poll released by Tel
Aviv University during the conflict’s final week.
Thirteen Israelis, among them 10 soldiers, died during the
fighting, Israel says.
The war’s popularity is explained in part by lingering dis-
trust toward the peace process among many Israelis since
following the collapse of talks brokered by President Clin-
ton at Camp David in 2000, which unleashed a new Pales-
tinian intifada, or uprising.
Martin van Creveld, a former professor at Hebrew Uni-
versity who has written four books about Israeli defense,
counts himself among that skeptical crowd.
“There was a time 10 years ago when I had great hopes for
the peace process,” he says. “No longer.”
He calls the Gaza war a “success” because it stopped Hamas’
rocket fire — and he says it’s just the latest example of Is-
rael “hitting its neighbors over the head” to demonstrate
its military power. He says that going back to the 1970s,
Israel’s use of “disproportionate” force against Egypt, Jor-
dan, Syria, and most recently against Hezbollah militants
in Lebanon in 2006, was effective enough to intimidate its
foes and ensure that a relative calm followed.
“That’s not peace, but at least it’s the absence of blood-
shed,” van Creveld says. “And in my mind, that’s a hell of
a lot.”
Yoram Ettinger, a former minister for congressional rela-
tions at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, is among those
Israelis who think that a lasting peace deal is impossible as
Page 12
As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Friday, January 23, 2009 Page 1A
long as Hamas remains in power — and therefore wishes
the Gaza offensive had gone even further.
“Terrorism and the peace process constitute an oxymo-
ron,” Ettinger says. “Anyone who wants to advance peace
has to first get rid of Hamas.”
That broad skepticism of the peace process among Israe-
lis, reinforced by the Gaza war, could prove to be one of
the most formidable medium-term obstacles to a deal, van
Creveld says.
“I would like very much to see an American administra-
tion that has what it takes to bend our heads together to
stop us fighting each other,” he says. “But is it likely? No,
no. Both sides here are just too stubborn — after this war,
more so.”
Desperation on the streets
Minds may be even harder to change in Gaza because of
the humanitarian crisis.
About 70% of the population are refugees, many of whom
depend on United Nations food aid. At a small warehouse
in Gaza City, hundreds of people lined up for rations of sug-
ar, rice, cooking oil and flour. The floor was coated with a
thick layer of flour as U.N. workers scurried around, push-
ing wheelbarrows full of flour, sugar and other supplies.
The number of families receiving food aid in Gaza City has
increased to 22,000 from 18,000 before the war, according
to U.N. statistics.
In Gaza City on Thursday, Abdel el-Kader abu Dalal, a 54-
year-old carpenter, says he waited in line for more than
two hours for his ration.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
Before the war, he says, he usually waited only 15 minutes
for the food, which he uses to help feed his family of sev-
en.
The anger is diffuse: Gazans remain angry at Arab govern-
ments for not helping them when they were under attack
by Israel.
Mohammed Mahmud Ibrahim, 35, an economics teacher
here, says Saudi Arabia and Egypt “don’t want to make
problems with Israel.”
But, as has been the case here for as long as anyone can
remember, most of the hatred is reserved for Israel and
the United States — and although Obama’s election has
stirred some hope for change here, most people don’t ex-
pect much.
“He won’t be worse than Bush,” Shalah says, but “I don’t
have any hope in the U.S. government.”
El-Shami, the police captain, dismisses Obama as “the
same as Bush.”
For his part, el-Shami says he’s not worried about when his
police station will be rebuilt or even whether it will be. “I
don’t need an office,” he says. “Our war with Israel is long.
If we rebuild it, Israel might destroy it again.”
Contributing: Theodore May, Hasan Jaber, Tom Vanden Brook in Wash-
ington, and Brian Winter in McLean, Va.
Page 13
As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Page 10A

Today’s debate: The Middle East

Israel’s tactics in Gaza

invite Palestinian backlash
Our View: horrific bombings petered out as people on both sides in
Northern Ireland got tired of violence and were steered
Efforts to crush Hamas prompt into a credible political process. The Palestinians’ own tan-
gled history with Israel tells a similar tale.
Arab street to rally behind it.
The Palestinian Liberation Organization was once as vio-
Israel’s bloody 11-day incursion into Gaza appears to have
lent and as bent on Israel’s destruction as Hamas is today
two goals, one entirely justified and one based on wishful
(though without Hamas’ radical Islamic fervor). But the
thinking.
PLO came to accept Israel’s right to exist under the Oslo
Peace Accord signed in 1994, which promised Palestinians
The first is simply to stop the rocket attacks that have
a homeland.
been coming from Gaza, controlled by the militant group
Hamas, into Israel. For this, Israel has every right, much
The PLO’s iconic leader, Yasser Arafat, ultimately reneged
as the U.S. would if Mexicans sworn to the destruction of
on a final peace deal with Israel. But the framework of a
America were firing missiles from Juarez into El Paso.
two-state solution remains much as it was outlined in the
last days of the Clinton presidency eight years ago.
The second, more expansive goal is to try to smash Hamas
and turn the Palestinian masses against the group. As de-
After Arafat died in 2004, Palestinians became disenchant-
sirable as this might be given Hamas’ record of terrorism,
ed with his Fatah successors because of corruption that
decades of Middle East conflict provide scant evidence
kept them mired in poverty and without that all-impor-
that Israel can achieve this objective by military means.
tant path to a better life. Hamas won elections in 2006 be-
cause it promised a way forward, lavished social services
Decades of punishments — from assassinations to mass
and benefits on Palestinians and vowed to end corruption.
imprisonments to confiscation of Palestinians’ property
But it remained committed to terrorism.
and curtailment of their rights — have only engendered
more support for Palestinian leaders. It’s a matter of hu-
Israel’s efforts to split Palestinians from Hamas, however,
man nature, and the Israel’s latest offensive appears to be
have long lacked the needed carrots to match its sticks.
producing more of the same. Tuesday’s deaths of dozens of
It has particularly failed to build up Palestinian President
Palestinians sheltering at a United Nations school are likely
Mahmoud Abbas, whose government controls the larger
to intensify the anti-Israeli backlash.
Palestinian territory in the West Bank and who wants to
be a constructive alternative.
The lesson is that Israel needs to step back and figure out
how to prevent the same cycle from repeating without
Israel deserves to be safe from Hamas rockets. But it can’t
end: Israel punishing innocent Palestinians in response to
ensure lasting security by going after tactical successes
terrorism, inevitably stirring up more radicalization, re-
likely to radicalize Palestinians over the long term.
sentment and retaliation.

Popular support for terrorism typically ends when people

see a future for themselves. The Irish Republican Army’s

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 14

As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 Page 10A

Today’s debate: The Middle East

Israel’s inalienable right

At the moment, that’s easier said than done. President Bush
Opposing View: has done little to check Israel when it has stepped out of
Eliminating the Hamas obstacle is line, including continuing to build settlements on disputed
land, and President-elect Barack Obama’s policies have yet
only way to advance peace process. to emerge, encouraging Israel’s high-risk gamble.
By Jonathan Peled
Further, Israel itself is also in the unsettled run-up to elec-
tions in February. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has
Israel — as every country — has the right to self-defense.
resigned because of a scandal, wants to redeem his repu-
That said, its massive bombardment of Gaza, with hun-
tation for bungling Israel’s 2006 war against Hezbollah in
dreds of militants and civilians killed, is a high-stakes gam-
Lebanon. And Defense Minister Ehud Barak wants to be a
ble that puts a credible long-term solution — of two peace-
credible rival as the front-runners — Foreign Minister Tzipi
ful states living side by side — at risk.
Livni and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu —
vie for the “I’m tougher than you” crown.
The immediate problem is straightforward enough. On
Dec. 19, the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which con-
Israel deserves security. The Palestinians deserve econom-
trols the land neighboring Israel known as the Gaza Strip,
ic viability. Perhaps outsiders — most likely Egypt or the
ended a six-month truce. The truce had been brokered
United States — can help broker a new cease-fire. However
by Egypt after a major Israeli incursion into Gaza. Hamas
the present horror ends, it will have made it more difficult
rocket fire into southern Israel has claimed some casual-
for the incoming Obama administration to get Israel and
ties, keeping Israelis insecure and in retaliatory mood.
the Palestinians to peaceful coexistence.
Hamas says its missile fire is justified. It contends that Isra-
That’s too bad. Because it’s not the details that are impos-
el is behaving like a capricious jailer to Gaza’s Palestinians.
sible. Many were hammered out by previous administra-
Besides controlling air and sea access, Israel won’t open
tions. It is how to get there. The present repeated rocket
border crossings into Israel with any consistency — as a
attacks and massive retaliation makes it far tougher by
result, Palestinians don’t have access to the regular trade
stirring anger and divisions in the region and the world.
and jobs that can make their economy viable. Palestinians
in Gaza live in dire and growing poverty. All of that is true,
but Hamas could change the situation in an instant simply
by credibly recognizing Israel’s right to exist.

These mutual grievances need addressing. The best way is

through negotiations that involve the United States return-
ing to its former role as an engaged and honest broker. Jonathan Peled is the israeli embassy’s spokesman in Washington.

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 15

As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Friday, May 29, 2009 Page 4A
Obama sets terms for Mideast peace
Says security, halt to settlements are needed for accord
From Wire Reports
WASHINGTON — President Obama said Israel must halt
expansion of its settlements on the West Bank and Pales-
tinians must stop inflaming anti-Israeli sentiment for there
to be any chance of achieving a peace accord.
Obama spoke after an Oval Office meeting Thursday with
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The
American leader said Israelis and Palestinians must take
steps if they are to realize a peace agreement that will al-
low them to live “side by side.”
Obama’s comments came on the same day Israel refused a
demand to freeze construction in the West Bank, land that
Palestinians want to claim for themselves.
“We need to get this thing back on track,” Obama said.
Abbas said “time is of the essence” in moving forward
on the peace process. While echoing Abbas on urgency,
Obama said he has no “artificial timetable” to reach an ac-
cord.
After leaving the White House, Abbas was scheduled to
meet with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
The meeting of the two presidents came 10 days after
Obama hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Next week, Obama will travel to the Middle East to confer
with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.
In his May 18 session with Netanyahu, Obama urged the
Israeli leader to support Palestinian statehood and said
a peace agreement would give the United States more
leverage in trying to thwart Iran’s nuclear program. He
said he told Netanyahu that the “settlements have to be
stopped.”
Netanyahu said he was willing to begin talks with the Pal-
estinians “immediately,” although he declined to endorse
Obama’s call for a “two-state solution” to the conflict.
After returning to Israel, Netanyahu rejected Obama’s plea
to stop Jewish settlements in the West Bank, creating a
fresh obstacle to reviving peace talks with the Palestin-
ians.
Obama made clear after his meeting with Abbas that he
expects the Palestinians to uphold their commitments,
including enhanced security in the West Bank. He asked
Abbas to reduce anti-Israel sentiments.
“We are fully committed to all of our obligations,” Abbas
said.
Obama has linked progress on the Israeli-Palestinian con-
flict with pressuring Iran to the negotiating table.
Next week, Obama is set to travel to the region, stopping
in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday before going to Cairo to de-
liver a speech that he said is aimed at improving U.S. rela-
tions with the Muslim world.
Page 16
 As seen in USA TODAY NEWS Section, Friday, June 5, 2009 Page 8A

Comments from around the world

on address
President Obama’s speech in Cairo was aimed at the Muslim world and beyond. Here are excerpts from the speech and reac-
tions from those who listened.

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 17

 Discussion Questions
1. Using the articles and resources listed in this case study to gain a sense of the history of conflict in the Middle East,
identify the various “seeds of discord” that have contributed to the ongoing, chronic nature of the violence. How
have these factors impacted the failure of the presidents going back to Harry Truman to deliver lasting peace in the
region?

2. Anthony Cordesman, Middle East expert, * thinks the war in Afghanistan will be won with programs like the Guard’s
Agribusiness Development Team effort. ** “These are the tactics that have been responsible for virtually every mod-
ern success in irregular warfare, and the Guard’s efforts are an example of the only path to success,” he says. Given
the root causes for violence that you identified in the question above, give concrete examples of how similar tactics
might be applied to quell the ongoing violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Ingeneral, would that model
translate to the overall Middle East crisis as well?

3. General Petraeus claims to have gleaned three bullet points from reading “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson
and David Oliver Relin***: build relationships, listen more, and have more humility and respect. How might these
principles be incorporated into the Obama administration’s strategy to quell violence in the Middle East? To what
degree, if any, should they be considered as guiding principles when determining foreign policy? To what degree
can we define security and basic needs as being “one more important than the other” or as being “mutually sup-
portive”?

4. What are the most likely changes in foreign policy, in general, and Middle East strategy, in particular, from the Bush ad-
ministration to the Obama administration? What lessons might President Obama take from the long-term failure to find
peace in the region? How does his selection of George Mitchell as special envoy to the region reflect on his likely strategy?

* Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, Center for Strategic and International Studies http://csis.org/expert/anthony-h-cordesman
** http://www.army.mil/aps/08/information_papers/other/ARNG_Agribusiness_Development_Team.html
*** http://www.threecupsoftea.com

Future Implications
1. Enumerate the challenges for Israel as they pursue offensives in Gaza. What effect did the recent siege have on the
relationship between Hamas and its supporters? How did civilian casualties affect Israel’s relationship with its neigh-
bors and impact its image abroad? What ramifications are likely if Israel is unable to significantly weaken Hamas’
military power?

2. Israeli-American historian Michael Oren said another Palestinian uprising, or intifada, was unlikely as a result of the
violence in Gaza, but “the chances for a snowballing regional conflagration are not insignificant.” How would con-
tinuing violence impact the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and stability in the wider region?

3. Mahmoud Abbas blames Hamas for bringing the raids on Gaza by not extending the six-month cease-fire with Israel.
Ultimately, was Hamas or Israel seen as the antagonist in the latest conflict? Explain. What is meant by “the Palestin-
ians never lose an opportunity to lose an opportunity”? Express why you believe this is correct or incorrect.

Voices Extension
Explore the arguments and questions regarding the war in Iraq on the Voices site at: http://www.usatodayeducate.
com/collegiatereadership/index.php/issue-iraq. In what ways is our way forward in Iraq informed by the current vio-
lence in the Middle East?

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 18

 Action
Divide the class into two parts, A and B. In each group, assign one of the following countries to a student or small group
of students: Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Each group
should study the history of their chosen country or people, the seeds of any conflicts (both past and present), the needs
of their citizens going forward and compromises that they might offer to other countries.

Select one representative from each country in Group A to meet as a group and discuss mutual solutions to provide
citizens with security and a degree of prosperity.

Those in Group B representing Egypt, Jordan and Israel should meet, establish common needs, etc… and send a rep-
resentative to meet with Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. The representative from this group should then meet with the
Saudi representative with the goal of ending hostilities and establishing diplomatic and normal relations with Israel and
providing a minimum guarantee of security and prosperity to all players in the region.

How did the results of each method of diplomacy (direct or negotiated) differ? Which proved the most effective at end-
ing conflict or providing a path forward for peace and security?

Additional Resources
The Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP)
fmep.org
u

 A nonprofit organization that promotes peace between Israel and Palestine, via two states, that meets the fun-
damental needs of both peoples. FMEP offers speakers, sponsors programs, makes small grants, and publishes
the Report on Israeli Settlement in the Occupied Territories containing analysis, commentary, maps, and other
data on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP)

allmep.org/allmep_v1/index.php
u

ALLMEP is an exciting new coalition of 57 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who promote people-to-
people coexistence between Arabs and Jews, Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East. Through ALLMEP,
Americans from diverse religious, ethnic, and political backgrounds can finally join together in support of real
efforts to build lasting peace in the region. Explore member activities at: http://www.allmep.org/allmep_v1/
members.php

MidEast Web
umideastweb.org/history.htm
Israel and Palestine: Middle East Historical and Peace Process Source Documents

Peace in the Middle East

umiddleeast.change.org
For much of the contemporary world, the Middle East is viewed through the narrow lens of the Israeli-Pal-
estinian conflict. Yet the region is filled with myriad peoples, religions, political identities, and cultures that
extend far beyond the strip of land comprising the modern state of Israel and the Palestinian territories. An
appreciation for the complexities of this region is essential to our understanding. Guide Charles Lenchner is
a nonprofit professional with 20 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations in Israel, Palestine
and the U.S.

The White House

uwhitehouse.gov/infocus/mideast

U.S. Department of State

ustate.gov/p/nea/rt/c2829.htm

Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Page 19