 The 'statesman for hire' earns a fortune as he flips roles between public official and private consultant, writes Jon Ungoed-Thomas TONY Blair has cashed in on his contacts from the Iraq war and his role as Middle East peace envoy for a private business venture expected to earn him more than pound stg. 5 million ($8.9m) a year.
The former British prime minister has sold his political and economic expertise to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, via his fledgling private consultancy. He also represents the investment bank JPMorgan in the region. Mr Blair has been working pro bono in the Middle East as a peace envoy while amassing a fortune from the US lecture circuit. By offering himself to the Arab states as a statesman for hire, he could double his annual earnings. His consultancy, the London-based Tony Blair Associates, emulates the New York partnership Kissinger Associates, founded by Henry Kissinger, the former national security adviser to US president Richard Nixon. A friend of Mr Blair said: "TBA has been set up to make money from foreign governments and major companies. There's a focus on the Middle East, because that's where the money is." His expanding business interests as he roves across the Middle East mean he flips his roles on a daily basis in official meetings. One hour he is the official peace envoy meeting a Middle East minister or ruler, the next he is a representative of TBA or JPMorgan. In some meetings with Arab states, where Mr Blair is introduced as the peace envoy, he has been flanked by Jonathan Powell, his former chief of staff, who accepted a job with Morgan Stanley, another US investment bank, after leaving Downing Street. Mr Powell has no role in the peace process, but is a senior adviser to TBA and helps to win business in the Middle East. Peter Brierley, 59, from Batley, West Yorkshire, whose son Shaun, 28, was killed near the Kuwait-Iraq border in March 2003 and who refused to shake Mr Blair's hand at a memorial service this month, said: "This beggars belief. "It's absolutely scandalous that he's now trying to make money from his contacts in the region. It's money from the blood and lives of the soldiers who died in Iraq." Hours after he stepped down from No10 in June 2007, Mr Blair became the Middle East envoy, on behalf of the European Union, the UN, US and Russia. Four months after leaving office, Blair signed a pound stg. 5m book deal with Random House. He is working on his memoirs, which are pencilled in for publication this time next year. His fees for talks, along with contracts with JPMorgan and Zurich Financial Services, are estimated to put his earnings -- excluding the book deal -- well in excess of pound stg. 5m a year. TBA's annual earnings in the Middle East alone could be expected easily to double his current income, according to business sources in the region. Mr Blair disclosed last December that he had formed TBA to advise on "political and economic trends and governmental reform". One of his first recruits was Mr Powell. On January 17, Blair was in Saudi Arabia in his peace envoy role to hold talks with King Abdullah on the Gaza strip and the need to end Israeli aggression. Mr Powell was also on the trip. Two days later, Mr Blair and Mr Powell met the nephew of the king, Prince Alwaleed, the wealthiest businessman in the Middle East, with a fortune of more than $26 billion. Read more here,,,, Source: The Australian 
 The visit to Damascus of King Abdullah, the Saudi monarch, is perhaps the best news Syria has received in recent years.
It comes as the crowning culmination of high-level meetings in Kuwait earlier this year and a visit by Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, to Riyadh in September. For Damascus, such a high-level visit from a leader of a regional powerhouse marks a victory for its political brinkmanship and is an acknowledgement that Syria has matured into an indispensable player in the divided Arab World. Syrian foreign policy has been basted on two pivotal principles: first, that there are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends; and second, that every situation can and will be used as leverage that will serve national interests and ensure the survivability of the regime. Such a two-pronged approach is pragmatic when it calculates winnings and losses, and elastic when it absorbs any situation and attempts to turn it to its advantage. For example, Syria saw no apparent conflict with its declared slogans of "Arab unity" and "Arab brotherhood" when it joined the US in its "war on terror" in 2003 and surrendered several Iraqi leaders who took refuge in its territories in the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq. Syria also endorsed the 2002 Saudi-brokered Arab Peace Initiative to normalise relations with Tel Aviv and even held bilateral talks with Israel with Turkish mediation. Turkey's role in bringing Syria to the negotiating table should not be underestimated. It was through Turkey - which is a US ally, Nato member and maintains diplomatic relations with Israel - that Syria managed to break its regional isolation, imposed by "moderate Arab states" as a punitive measure in the wake of the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former Lebanese premier, and for its support for Hezbollah. Syria has persistently denied involvement in al-Hariri's death. Despite its talks with the Israelis, US envoys and attempts to seal intra-Arab differences, Syria maintained its diplomatic elasticity by continuing support for Hezbollah - its most important ally in the region. Read more here,,,, Source: Al Jazeera (English)
 RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A prominent Muslim cleric has criticized a new Saudi university launched by King Abdullah for allowing men and women to take classes together. Sheik Saad Bin Naser al-Shethri, who is a member of the powerful government-sanctioned Supreme Committee of (Islamic) Scholars, was quoted Wednesday in the Al-Watan daily as demanding an end to coed classes at the newly opened King Abdullah Science and Technology University. "Mixing is a great sin and a great evil," al-Shethri was quoted as saying. "When men mix with women, their hearts burn and they will be diverted from their main goal (which is) ... education." Al-Shethri's comments indicate there may be significant opposition to the country's first fully integrated coed university among the kingdom's powerful religious establishment. The multibillion dollar postgraduate institution, which officially opened its doors to students last week, has been touted by King Abdullah as a "beacon of tolerance." The school boasts state-of-the-art labs, the world's 14th fastest supercomputer and one of the biggest endowments worldwide. Saudi officials have envisaged the university as a key part of the kingdom's plans to transform itself into a global scientific hub — its latest efforts to diversify its oil-reliant economy. Al-Watan, which is owned by members of the royal family, accused al-Shethri of trying to undermine Abdullah's reforms and suggested such criticism breeds terrorism. "This is what Al Qaeda awaits as a pretext and justification" for its actions, the paper's editor-in-chief, Jamal Kashukshi, said in an editorial. Another pro-government daily, Al-Riyadh, also rejected al-Shethri's comments, describing them as "a creed which puts us behind the rest of the Muslim world." Read more here,,,, Source: Fox News
 "Work is nearly complete on a set of contracts on the delivery of Russian arms and military technology to Saudi Arabia, with a total value of around two billion dollars," the source told Interfax news agency. "For many of these contracts, all the technical and financial details have practically been agreed, for others work is still ongoing," he added. Riyadh may purchase up to 150 helicopters - 30 Mi-35 attack helicopters and up to 120 Mi-17 transport helicopters - more than 150 T-90S tanks, around 250 BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles and "several dozen" air defence systems, the source said. Contracts for the sale of the tanks and the helicopters "could be signed as soon as this year," he told Interfax. Spokespersons for Rosoboronexport, Russia's state-owned arms export monopoly, and for the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, which oversees the arms trade, could not be reached for comment. Saudi Arabia - a close US ally - has long bought most of its arms from the US and Western Europe, but in recent years has been in talks on buying military equipment from Russia. Meanwhile Russia is keen to find new markets for its weapons exports, one of the few sectors of Russian manufacturing that has enjoyed international success. In 2008 Moscow and Riyadh signed a military cooperaton treaty, and this year Saudi King Abdullah received a delegation that included a top Kremlin adviser and an official from Rosoboronexport. Source: The Australian
By David Singer Jordan's King Abdullah is fast beginning to realise the serious ramifications threatening the continued rule of the Hashemite family dynasty in Jordan resulting from the failure of negotiations over the last 16 years to create a new Arab state between Jordan and Israel - “the two state solution“. Jordan’s intensive diplomatic support for the “the two state solution” has come apart at the seams as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas - emboldened by comments made by President Obama - now refuses to contemplate re-opening negotiations with Israel until Israel ceases all construction and building activity in the West Bank including the provision of residential housing to accommodate natural growth. Apparently Abbas regards adding a bedroom, a family room or a parent’s retreat to an existing house as an obstacle to resuming negotiations. Completing partly constructed houses to lock up stage is apparently anathema to the Palestinian Authority. Israel has made it clear that it will not be accommodating Abbas’s farcical demand for a total freeze on all construction in the West Bank. Some very neat diplomatic footwork will now have to be negotiated by President Obama - if Abbas - and Obama - are to save face and if Abbas is to be persuaded to resume the stalled negotiations. This process has already begun with President Obama stating on 18 August: “The Israeli government has taken discussions with us very seriously,” adding that he “was encouraged by what I am seeing on the ground.” Link Abbas however now also finds himself embroiled in a serious conflict of interest - negotiating for the “two state solution” as the head of the Palestinian Authority whilst simultaneously chairing Fatah which calls for a “one state solution” - the total destruction of Israel. Israel needs to seriously consider whether it should resume negotiations with Abbas whilst he retains both positions following his re-election as Chairman of Fatah in Bethlehem last week. The long running power struggle between Hamas and Fatah continues unabated. The intrusion of a new terrorist movement into Gaza politics - Jund Ansar Allah - has seen 30 Gazans killed and more than 100 wounded in fratricidal blood letting last weekend. Gaza and the West Bank remain divided into separate Hamas and Fatah fiefdoms with no end to that confrontation in sight. Read More here ... Source: CFP
WASHINGTON: Saudi King Abdullah urged Palestinians to unite, saying their internal divisions have done more harm to their cause than Israel has. "I frankly tell you that all that the arrogant and lawbreaking enemy could not do to the Palestinian cause over the past long years of continuous aggression the Palestinians themselves have done in a few months," Abdullah said Tuesday in a cable to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the start of a Fatah conference in Bethlehem. "I am telling you the truth, if the whole world jointly strove to establish an independent Palestinian state but the Palestinian house remained divided, nothing would be achieved." Abdullah urged Palestinians to "rise above your pettiness and divisions to unite your ranks." Source: JTA
 July 22 by Stephen Suleyman Schwartz
Executive Director, Center for Islamic Pluralism Since his accession to the throne in 2005, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abd Al-Aziz has been viewed hopefully, by many Muslims, as a reformer. With wide contacts in the kingdom, we at CIP shared this optimism. Abdullah encouraged a positive vision of the Saudi future by, among other actions, creating a department of women’s education, headedby a woman. He had supported an interfaith meeting between representatives of all the world religions in Madrid last year, and although it accomplished nothing important, it represented a breakthrough in that Muslims had never before sat down with representatives of the Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, and Shinto communities, on an equal footing. Finally and most importantly, Abdullah had taken steps to curb the notorious mutawiyin, usually mislabeled a “religious police” by foreign observers, and to make them accountable for their frequent abuse of ordinary people. In reality, the mutawiyin are not a police agency, but a paramilitary body similar to the Iranian Basij who spy on citizens in totalitarian countries like Cuba and China. The mutawiyin patrol the Saudi streets to enforce the rigid pseudo-moralistic habits prescribed by Wahhabism, the Saudi state religion. They accost couples they suspect of being unmarried; they arrest women who drive vehicles, and beat, with leather-covered sticks, women who allow a thin margin of the abaya, a garment covering the whole body, to slip, exposing an ankle; they harass vendors of allegedly heretical or subversive books; they raid homes where they suspect liquor is consumed; they walk the streets of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, preventing Shia and Sufi pilgrims from engaging in prayers of which the Wahhabis disapprove… and they kill people. Limiting the activities of the mutawiyin, and even abolishing the institution altogether, was long seen by progressive Saudis and forward-looking Muslims around the world as a necessary first step for the kingdom to become something approximating a rationally-governed state. Although few reform-minded Saudis imagined the country could suddenly leap from the reactionary utopia of Wahhabism to Western democracy, many hoped that Saudi Arabia could become more like the zone that Saudis call “the crescent of normality” - those countries from Kuwait to Yemen in which non-Wahhabi Muslims, as well as Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist expatriates and immigrant workers (and in Bahrain and Yemen, a few Jews) where people are allowed religious freedom; women are prominent in various professions, dress as they wish, and can drive cars; and other freedoms can be taken for granted. But in March 2009 the Saudi clock began running backward. Prince Nayef bin Abd Al-Aziz, half brother of Abdullah and interior minister, became second deputy prime minister. Read more here ...Source: Hudson New York
US President Barack Obama last night began a landmark Middle East mission to reach out to the world's Muslims, but earned a swift rebuke from Osama bin Laden in a new audiotape. Mr Obama arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to a red-carpet welcome and a kiss on both cheeks from Saudi King Abdullah, a key regional powerbroker who serves as protector of the two holiest shrines in Islam. But minutes after Air Force One touched down, Al-Jazeera television aired a new tape from the al-Qa'ida chief, hot on the heels of a statement from his right-hand man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who lashed out at Mr Obama's "bloody messages". Joining a battle for the hearts and minds of the Arab world, bin Laden accused Mr Obama of perpetuating former president George W. Bush's policies of "antagonising Muslims". "He has followed the steps of his predecessor in antagonising Muslims ... and laying the foundation for long wars," bin Laden said, referring to clashes between the US-backed Pakistan Government and Islamist militants. "Obama and his administration have sowed new seeds of hatred against America. Let the American people prepare to harvest the crops of what the leaders of the White House plant in the next years and decades." Mr Obama and King Abdullah held talks at the monarch's sprawling farm outside Riyadh, with Mr Obama making his first foray into tricky personal diplomacy in the region, after a flurry of talks with Middle East leaders in Washington. Mr Obama will tonight travel to Egypt, another pillar of the Arab world, to deliver a personal appeal for reconciliation to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims, and hold his first talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. King Abdullah has been seeking to relaunch a 2002 Arab-backed Middle East peace initiative, which has been praised by the Obama administration. The Saudi initiative calls for normalisation of relations between the Arab states and Israel, a full withdrawal by Israel from Palestinian land, the creation of a Palestinian state and an "equitable" solution for the Palestinian refugees. But it was unclear whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's tough stand on Jewish settlements in Palestian areas would scupper US hopes of convincing the Arab world to make concessions to Israel to put momentum into the peace process. The US President's trip comes amid a confrontation between his administration and the Israeli Government over Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Mr Netanyahu's refusal to publicly endorse a two-state solution. Speaking in Washington yesterday before his departure, Mr Obama gave Mr Netanyahu an ultimatum to change his stance on the West Bank settlements and a two-state solution with the Palestinians within four to six weeks. Mr Obama issued the declaration to the Israeli leader via Mr Netanyahu's Defence Minister, Ehud Barak. Mr Obama made a surprise appearance at a meeting Mr Barak was holding in Washington with US National Security Adviser General Jim Jones. Mr Obama was not scheduled to meet Mr Barak but spoke with the former Israeli leader for about 15 minutes. Reports said he told Mr Barak he was giving Mr Netanyahu four to six weeks to provide an "updated position" regarding construction in West Bank settlements and the two-state principle. Mr Netanyahu is concerned Mr Obama's bridge-building with the Muslim world will necessarily come at Israel's expense. The differences between the new US administration and Mr Netanyahu's Government have thus far been largely confined to one issue - settlement expansion. But there is fear in Jerusalem that the differences in mindset will eventually extend to more critical issues such as Jerusalem and final borders. Israel has long since stopped building new settlements, but under an agreement with the previous Bush administration it continued to build within existing settlements to accommodate "natural growth".
However, the Obama administration has made it clear that it wants a halt to all construction. For Washington, the issue is whether it can persuade the Arab world it is serious about creating a new dialogue with it. Moderate Arab leaders with whom Mr Obama has met since taking office have emphasised that the growth of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land makes a moderate position untenable for them. In preparing his pitch to the Muslim world, Mr Obama has said he is not abandoning the Jewish state as an ally. But he has made it clear he is reordering his priorities to be an honest broker between Israel and the Arabs. Source: The Australian
Apr 26 AMMAN, Jordan – Jordan's king urged President Barack Obama Sunday to take a more forceful role in the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians, warning of a new Mideast war if there is no significant progress in the next 18 months. Speaking to NBC's "Meet the Press," King Abdullah described the Israeli-Palestinian dispute as the core problem of the region and solving it would help the U.S. in dealing with Iran and combatting the appeal of radical Islamic groups like Al-Qaida. "In the next 18 months, if we don't move the process forward, and bring people to the negotiation table, there will be another conflict between Israel and another protagonist," he said in the interview recorded in Washington on Friday. "If it's left to the players, the Israelis and the Palestinians by themselves, we're not going to get anywhere — it can only happen if there is an American umbrella with a determined American president," he added. Jordan is one of two Arab countries that have signed a peace treaty with Israel and is a strong U.S. ally in the region. The majority of the country's citizens are also of Palestinian origin, making it very interested in the ongoing peace talks. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, relaunched in late 2007, have made little visible progress — in part due to Palestinian infighting. The new Israeli government also has not endorsed the goal of an independent Palestinian state. A Palestinian state alongside Israel is the centerpiece of U.S. peace efforts in the region. The king also addressed the use of torture, acknowledging that he had heard in the press that it was being used by United States, but denying allegations that Jordan was involved. Human Rights Watch, among other groups, has issued reports alleging that the Jordanian intelligence service brutally interrogated detainees on behalf of the CIA. Instead, Abdullah said his intelligence services specialized in turning enemy agents and using them as informants. "I think that we have been very smart in being intelligent (and) convincing operatives that we have come across to end up working for us — and you can't do that when it comes to torture," he said. The king also noted that Obama had substantially improved the image of the United States in the region. "America is providing a new image of how things should be done and I think the world has a belief in the president," he said. Source: AP
 By Matt Spetalnick | April 21 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama nudged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday to accept the goal of a Palestinian state, as he pressed Israel and the Palestinians to "step back from the abyss." Deepening his direct role in reviving stalled peace efforts, Obama met Jordan's King Abdullah and invited Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for separate talks by early June. He seized the chance to reassure Abdullah of his commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict despite reluctance by Netanyahu's new right-leaning government to support eventual Palestinian statehood.
Obama reasserted his pledge to "deeply engage" in Arab-Israeli peace diplomacy -- in contrast to a more hands-off approach by his predecessor George W. Bush -- and predicted good-faith gestures from both sides in coming months. "What we have to do is step back from the abyss," Obama told reporters after meeting Abdullah, a key Arab ally, at the White House. But Obama's Middle East strategy has been complicated by the emergence of a coalition led by Netanyahu, who since coming to power last month has avoided recognizing the Palestinians' right to an independent state, as his predecessor Ehud Olmert did. Obama took care not to confront Netanyahu head-on but made clear his administration hoped to coax him into accepting the principle of a two-state solution, which has been the basis of U.S. policy for years. "They are going to have to formulate and, I think, solidify their position," Obama said of Israel's new government. While offering no new ideas for solving the decades-old conflict, he insisted a "sense of urgency" was needed to resuscitate the peace process. "I agree that we can't talk forever, that at some point steps have to be taken so that people can see progress on the ground. And that will be something that we will expect to take place in the coming months," Obama said. Adding to pressure on Netanyahu, Obama added, "I am a strong supporter of a two-state solution. I have articulated that publicly, and I will articulate that privately. And I think that there are a lot of Israelis who also believe in a two-state solution." CONTRAST TO BUSH Obama reaffirmed his pledge to make Middle East peace a priority. Bush's critics had accused him of largely neglecting the conflict, and most Arabs considered him biased in favor of Israel. Washington's reengagement in the elusive quest for Israeli-Palestinian peace is seen as a key thrust of Obama's bid to repair the United States' image in the world damaged by the Iraq war and other Bush policies. Obama made clear his support for a 2002 Arab initiative seeking "a comprehensive peace" between Israel and all Arab nations, including a Palestinian state, to be an integral part of renewed peace efforts. Successive Israeli governments have been wary of the initiative in part because it is vague about how to resolve the status of Palestinian refugees. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said after having lunch with Abdullah that more must be done to revive peace talks. "We have to enlist the neighbors in the region in support of those efforts," she said. It remained unclear, however, how hard Obama might be willing to push Netanyahu to make compromises. On the Palestinian side, Abbas's political weakness -- he governs only the West Bank while Islamist Hamas controls the Gaza Strip -- raises serious questions about his ability to deliver on any deal. Visiting Israel and the occupied West Bank last week, Obama's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, said he would vigorously pursue the creation of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu has pledged to hold talks with the Palestinians on economic, security and diplomatic issues but has made no public promise to negotiate statehood. Palestinian leaders have rejected any notion of an "economic peace" and have said U.S.-backed talks with Israel could not resume until Netanyahu committed to statehood. (Additional reporting by Ross Colvin, Caren Bohan and Sue Pleming, editing by Philip Barbara) Source: Yahoo News H/T WeaselZippers
Initiative leaves Jewish state with truncated, difficult-to-defend bordersBy Aaron Klein TEL AVIV, Israel – The Obama administration has decided to base its approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on an Arab "peace" initiative, according to a source in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Defenders of Israel warn the so-called "Arab Peace Initiative" in its full form would leave the Jewish state with truncated, difficult-to-defend borders and could threaten Israel's Jewish character by compelling it to accept millions of foreign Arabs. Earlier today, Netanyahu held a meeting with Obama's envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, to outline the prime minister's approach to Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu reportedly told Mitchell he would condition future talks with the Palestinians on Palestinian leaders' first recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, a step that would be difficult should Hamas join a unity government. The Israeli Ynetnews website quoted Netanyahu telling Mitchell of fears that any Israeli withdrawal from strategic territory would leave a terrorist hornet's nest in its wake. "Israel must make sure that the political process does not result in the creation of a second 'Hamastan' (in the West Bank) that would threaten Jerusalem and the coastline," Netanyahu reportedly said. Regarding Syria, Netanyahu told Mitchell he is willing to approach talks with Damascus if the country would curb its alliance with Iran and backing of Palestinian terrorism, according to a source in the Netanyahu government speaking to WND. The source said Mitchell conveyed to Netanyahu that Obama seeks to create a Palestinian state in hopes of normalizing relations between Israel and the Arab world in line with the "Arab Peace Initiative." The source told WND Mitchell relayed that Obama's Mideast strategy would be based on the concept of the "Initiative" but with security guarantees for Israel. Following scores of denials he would trumpet the plan, Obama in January hailed the Arab initiative, which offers normalization of ties with the Jewish state in exchange for extreme Israeli concessions. In an interview with an Arab television network – his first formal interview as president – Obama stated: "Well, here's what I think is important. Look at the proposal that was put forth by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. ... I might not agree with every aspect of the proposal, but it took great courage to put forward something that is as significant as that. I think that there are ideas across the region of how we might pursue peace. I do think that it is impossible for us to think only in terms of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not think in terms of what's happening with Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan." The Arab Initiative, originally proposed by King Abdullah in 2002 and later adopted by the Arab League, states that Israel would receive "normal relations" with the Arab world in exchange for a full withdrawal from the entire Gaza Strip, West Bank, Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem, which includes the Temple Mount. The West Bank contains important Jewish biblical sites and borders central Israeli population centers, while the Golan Heights looks down on Israeli civilian zones and was twice used by Syria to mount ground invasions into the Jewish state. The Arab plan also demands the imposition of a non-binding U.N. resolution that calls for so-called Palestinian refugees who wish to move inside Israel to be permitted to do so at the "earliest practicable date." Palestinians have long demanded the "right of return" for millions of "refugees," a formula Israeli officials across the political spectrum warn is code for Israel's destruction by flooding the Jewish state with millions of Arabs, thereby changing its demographics. When Arab countries attacked the Jewish state after its creation in 1948, some 725,000 Arabs living within Israel's borders fled or were expelled from the area that became Israel. Also at that time, about 820,000 Jews were expelled from Arab countries or fled following rampant persecution. While most Jewish refugees were absorbed by Israel and other countries, the majority of Palestinian Arabs have been maintained in 59 U.N.-run camps that do not seek to settle the Arabs elsewhere. There are currently about 4 million Arabs who claim Palestinian refugee status with the U.N., including children and grandchildren of the original fleeing Arabs, Arabs living full-time in Jordan, and Arabs who long ago emigrated throughout the Middle East and to the West. U.S. stresses Palestinian state In public comments today, Mitchell stated Obama remained committed to creating a Palestinian state, in contrast to comments by some Israeli politicians that Israel was not bound by the two-state solution but would instead stress the U.S. Road Map, which calls for the Palestinians to dismantle terrorism before talks to create a state. "The U.S. policy favors a two-state solution, which would have a Palestinian state living in peace alongside the Jewish state of Israel," said Mitchell after a meeting with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. "We had a good, full and candid discussion covering both the history of the peace process, going back to the 1990s, and continuing to the present, and also looking into the future on what can be done to achieve our common objectives," Mitchell said. Lieberman's office had earlier released a statement that the politician told Mitchell that "thus far, the traditional approach has not brought any results or solutions." Lieberman reportedly explained to Mitchell that the Jewish state has previously agreed to "far-reaching concessions" but that "the diplomatic process is at [a] dead end." Source: WorldNetDaily
 Michelle Obama holds the Queen and
Barack Obama bows to Saudi King King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al SaudConservative American commentators have accused Barack Obama of "grovelling" to an Arab monarch at the G20 summit in London. A photo and video footage of the US President bowing to Saudi Arabian King Abdullah at yesterday's G20 meet-and-greet has been doing the rounds on the internet today. Mr Obama appears to shake the King's hand and then bow from the waist while French President Nicholas Sarkozy looks on. Leading conservative blogger Michelle Malkin and Dakota Voice both wrote of their outrage at the President's deference to a foreign monarch. "The whole thing is embarrassing. Its like the `American Hillbillies go to Europe'," Malkin wrote. "He is throwing American power and prestige out with both hands as fast as he can." Dakota Voice contributor Bob Ellis said the bow was a gesture of submission. "The leader of the most free nation in the world should not be slobbering on the ring of some king," Ellis wrote. But American etiquette expert Gloria Starr, who has met the King's wife and hosted two of their daughters in her finishing schools, told smh.com.au there was nothing wrong with Mr Obama's display of deference. "I think it was a sign of respect and in no way diminishes the ranking of the President or indicates the greater strength of the one being bowed to," Ms Starr said. "I bowed, wore the attire, ate the figs as a sign of respect when I was in Saudi. "I applaud the President for showing this courtesy." Former president George Bush was criticised for holding the hand of then-crown prince Abdullah during the monarch's visit to America four years ago. But Obama's gaffe did not rate a mention in the mainstream US media, despite Michelle Obama's tactile approach to the Queen at the same function. The Times noted: "Protocol dictates that no one should touch the Queen - as the Australian Paul Keating learnt to his cost - but she seemed comfortable with Michelle Obama's embrace at Buckingham Palace." Keating was blasted by the British media and branded the "Lizard of Oz" when pictures emerged of him putting a friendly arm around the Queen to guide her through a function at Parliament House in Canberra in 1992. Source: Sydney Morning Herald
Saudi King makes biggest cabinet shakeup since taking helm, appoints first-ever woman deputy minister.By Paul Handley - RIYADH King Abdullah on Saturday made sweeping changes to his government, axing the head of the religious police and appointing Saudi Arabia's first-ever woman deputy minister in the biggest shakeup since he took over the throne. Analysts said the changes continued Abdullah's cautious modernisation of the country's arch-conservative education, legal and social environments. The reshuffle included naming new education, justice, information and health ministers, a new leader of the consultative Shura council, new central bank chief and the appointment of a woman deputy education minister for female education affairs. Norah al-Fayez, currently an official at the Saudi Institute for Public Administration, became the first holder of the new job, the most senior ever granted to a woman in the Muslim kingdom. Read more ... Source: Middle East Online
 Richard Beeston, New York | November 18, 2008
ISRAEL believes there is a chance for dialogue with Iran if Barack Obama succeeds in uniting the international community behind a common policy.
Israeli President Shimon Peres said his country's most implacable foe could be brought to the negotiating table, but it would depend on a new political climate and economic factors, in particular a falling oil price.
The 85-year-old politician said he expected Israel to achieve peace with its Arab neighbours in his lifetime, and even predicted that he would one day visit Damascus and Riyadh.
Mr Peres's upbeat message will no doubt be dismissed by many in the Middle East as the musings of a lifelong optimist.
Certainly no recent Israeli leader has expressed any positive view of Iran, whose nuclear policy and support for militant groups are regarded as the major threats to the Jewish state.
But Mr Peres insisted he could see new opportunities in the region, citing his invitation to attend a multi-faith conference in New York last week, initiated by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah.
"If there will be a united policy on Iran and there is a new (lower) price for oil, then Iran will have to come to terms with a proportionate reality of our times," the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former prime minister said.
"If the Iranians feel there is a body politic behind (the push for talks) and they cannot just escape by sending (President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad to spread quick wisdom, then there is a chance."
But he said no progress was possible until Iran had met three conditions: to halt its controversial nuclear and ballistic missile programs, to withdraw support for militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, and to stop the use of "terror".
His remarks coincided with a major US policy review of relations with Iran, which President George W. Bush included in his "axis of evil".
President-elect Barack Obama has hinted he is prepared for "direct diplomacy" with Tehran.
There is even talk of opening a US interests section in Tehran, the first diplomatic mission since the 1979 Iranian revolution, when the US embassy was seized by students and US diplomats were held hostage for more than a year.
Mr Peres held out hopes that Israel could reach a "land for peace" agreement with Syria over the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War.
"I think Israel is ready to make peace with Syria and pay the cost," he said, confirming talks with Damascus were continuing.
But he warned the regime of President Bashar al-Assad that peace was "not a cocktail".
Mr Peres said Israel would accept a deal only if Syria halted its support for militant groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
"The problem with Syria is not so much the land but the peace," he said. "Several Israeli prime ministers indicated they are ready to give back the land. But the Syrians do not indicate they are ready to provide peace."
As for Britain, Mr Peres said it could play an important role in the region, though he did admit being concerned about growing anti-Israeli sentiment in the country.
"I don't understand the criticism," he said.
"Why are they criticising us? That war is an ugly story. We know it. I can assure them we did not invite it and we are not happy with it, and as we have shown, we are ready to pay the cost. I do not take their superior position. They do not go into the realities of the situation. They just want to be politically correct." Source:The Australian from the Times
 Bruce Loudon, South Asia correspondent
October 08, 2008
FORMER Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday emerged in a key role in Saudi Arabian attempts to start peace talks with the Taliban, as momentum for negotiations was boosted further by a frank admission from the most senior UN official in Kabul that "we cannot win militarily".
"To those that talk about (the need for) a military surge (Isay) what we need is a political surge," top UN envoy Kai Eide said.
At the same time, the Pakistani official trying to talk peace with the jihadi militants, Afrasiab Khattak, warned that the situation in his country's highly strategic Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the springboard for much of the Taliban and al-Qa'ida militancy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, "is just like Afghanistan was before 9/11 -- it is totally controlled by militants".
Mr Sharif, held in suspicion by Washington over an attempt when he was prime minister to impose shariah law in Pakistan and assume the Islamic caliphate-era title Ameer-ul-Momineen (Commander of the Faithful), was reported in Islamabad to be working with King Abdullah on a deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mr Sharif has longstanding and close ties with King Abdullah as well as the Taliban. He has long been regarded as Riyadh's foremost ally in the region.
Reports said he had extended a visit to Saudi Arabia to help the kingdom's Government get negotiations under way following a four-day meeting in Mecca between Taliban members and Afghan government officials.
"Nawaz Sharif is serving as the bridge (in these talks)," a leading Pakistani newspaper reported last night.
But at the same time, one of Mr Sharif's senior MPs in Pakistan's national assembly, Rasheed Akbar Niwani, was targeted by a jihadi militant suicide bomber in an attack on his home in the Punjab province -- the third such attack in as many days.
Thirty people were killed and more than 75 -- including Mr Niwani -- were injured in the blast, which was blamed by police on Taliban militants nowoperating widely across the Punjab.
Today's closed-door parliamentary session will go ahead.
Peace talks with the militants, despite US objections, are now regarded as inevitable.
Most experienced analysts see coalition efforts in Afghanistan doomed to failure, largely because of the degree to which the Taliban and al-Qa'ida have been able to consolidate themselves in Pakistan's tribal belt.
King Abdullah has organised four days of meetings in Mecca involving a 17-member Afghan delegation that includes 11 Taliban delegates, two Afghan officials and representatives of the veteran former mujaheddin commander Gulbuddin Hekmatyr, who is closely identified with Iran.
The meeting aims to work towards a peace deal under which the Taliban would share power in Kabul.
Last night, it was disclosed that 50,000 Afghans have been earmarked by Pakistani authorities for expulsion from the al-Qa'ida and Taliban stronghold of Bajaur because of the belief that they are supporting the militants. Source: The Australian
 Saudi Arabia's making a big deal about how worldly and enlightened they are because they invited some scary Jews to their big multi-faith religious conference that starts today in Madrid. Saudi King Abdullah says he organized the anything goes faith-fest "to promote tolerance, get rid of violence, and achieve peace and security for all peoples," but you'd be better off wagering that the old guy (a 9/11 conspiracy theorist, by the way) is just doing it to make his petro-kingdom an even bigger player on the geopolitical scene than it already is.
The people at the Center for Religious Freedom are a little annoyed with all of the ridiculous, self-congratulatory garbage the Saudis are slinging about this charade, which is why they went to the Saudi Ministry of Education's website, translated the Saudi school textbooks available there, and released their findings the day before the Saudi's big event. Huge surprise—turns out the militant theocrats are actually pretty tolerant when it comes to killing Jews and gays and hating on anyone who doesn't share their puritanical form of Islam. What follows are excerpts from textbooks used by Saudi children during the 2007-2008 school year, which really illustrate the House of Saud's devotion to tolerance, peace, and interfaith understanding. It'll also help explain why a Saudi conference is being held in Spain.
1st Grade
"Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words—(Islam, hellfire)
'Every religion other than ____ is false. Whoever dies outside of Islam enters ____.'"
5th Grade
"A Muslim is forbidden to love and aid the unbelieving enemies of God...."
"Which of the following should you love in God, and which of them should you hate in God?
Example: One of your relatives who does not pray, does not fast, and does not worship God.
Answer: I hate him in God."
"Just as Muslims were successful in the past when they came together in a sincere effort to evict the Christian crusaders from Palestine, so will Muslims and Arabs emerge victorious, God willing, against the Jews and their allies if they stand together and fight a true jihad for God...."
8th Grade
"Lesson Goals: 1) The student notes some of the Jews condemnable qualities...."
"God told his Prophet, Mohammed, about the Jews, who learned from part of God's book that God alone is worthy of worship. Despite this, they espouse falsehood through idol worship, soothsaying and sorcery. In doing so, they obey the devil..."
"God told his Prophet Mohammed: say to those who cast aspersions on your religion: has anyone told you who will receive the harshest punishment from God on the Day of Resurrection? They are the Jews, whom God has cursed and with whom he is so angry that he will never again be satisfied. Some of the people of the Sabbath were punished by being turned into apes and swine. Some of them were made to worship the devil..."
"God punished the Jews in several ways for their unbelief and error. Explain the ways...."
9th Grade
"The prophet said, 'The hour [of judgment] will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them, until the Jew hides behind rocks and trees, until the rocks or the trees say, 'O Muslim! O servant of God! There is a Jew behind me. Come and kill him'...."
"(1) It is part of God's wisdom that the struggle between the Muslims and the Jews should continue until the hour of judgment. (2) The good news for Muslims is that God will help them against the Jews in the end, which is one of the signs of the hour of judgment...."
10th Grade
"Basic Elements of Zionist Faith:
The Jews are God's chosen people and the souls of the tribe of Israel are a part of God. Other souls are Satanic souls that are like the souls of animals.
The world belongs to the Israeli. It is his right to rule and he has sovereignty over the world in his capacity as God's chosen people above all humankind...."
"How the Zionists Achieve their Goals:
Sedition, ruses, and conspiracy theories throughout history.... The First World War: the Jews played a role in starting it....
Attempting to inundate peoples with vice and rampant prostitution.... They manage bars in Europe and America, as well as in Israel itself.
Gaining control over literature and the arts; spreading degenerate pornographic literature, and encouraging perverted trends in literature, thought and art.
Gaining control over the film industry in the Western world and elsewhere.
Fraud, bribery, theft, and swindles."
"Homosexuality is one of the most disgusting sins and greatest crimes.... It is a vile perversion that goes against sound nature, and is one of the most corrupting and hideous sins.... The punishment for homosexuality is death. Both the active and passive participants are to be killed whether or not they have previously had sexual intercourse in the context of a legal marriage.... Some of the companions of the Prophet stated that [the perpetrator] is to be burned with fire. It has also been said that he should be stoned, or thrown from a high place."
11th Grade
"The Prophet said, 'Do not greet Jews and Christians with the words 'Peace be upon you.' If you come upon one of them on the road, force him to the narrower part.'" Source: RadarKing Abdullah
Latest recipient of the Distinguished Islamofascist Award
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Copyright Muslims Against Sharia 2008. All rights reserved.
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