Leader of the Pack

Jordan's King Abdullah is trying to get the Arabs lined up for peace. But they're all waiting for a sign from Obama.

By Christopher Dickey | Newsweek Web Exclusive
May 18, 2009 | Updated: 7:04  a.m. ET Nov 26, 2009

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  • Posted By: adfas @ 05/30/2009 7:53:52 PM

    Yeah the sign came the day Obama bent down to the King of Saudi Arabia.

  • Posted By: maxwill_ma @ 05/29/2009 6:17:37 AM

    it seems obama is the king of Arabs.

  • Posted By: blackhawk12 @ 05/21/2009 12:03:21 AM

    There is no language known as Palestinian. There is no distinct Palestinian culture. There has never been a land known as Palestine governed by Palestinians. Palestinians are Arabs, indistinguishable from Jordanians (another recent invention), Syrians, Lebanese, Iraqis, etc. Keep in mind that the Arabs control 99.9 percent of the Middle East lands. Israel represents one-tenth of 1 percent of the landmass...Greed. Pride. Envy. Covetousness. No matter how many land concessions the Israelis make, it will never be enough...

    • Posted By: froy1100 @ 05/21/2009 7:17:17 PM

      So what?

      • Posted By: concerned liberal @ 05/22/2009 12:08:40 PM

        Poinient, but your other posts indicate that you would prefer that the little guy(Israel) stop kickin the crap out of the larger guy(the arab community in general) and if nothing they do will be enough and your "so what" attitude say's it is true, then your plea seems world class stupid! That is so what!

        • Posted By: froy1100 @ 05/22/2009 6:48:59 PM

          You don't get it. Palestine is not an ancient country, and before WWI it was just one part of the Ottoman province of Syria. That is undeniable. But, so what?

          Arabs have been living in Palestine since the 7th century. Most probably they are the descendants of the peoples who dwelled the area since immemorial times at the time of Arab conquest that adopted Arab language, culture and customs. At the time of the first immigration waves of European Jews they represented the overwhelming majority of the population of Palestine. That they didn't have a distinct "Palestinian" culture is irrelevant. They had been living there for generations, and no alien colonizing invaders had the right to displace them and dispossess them. And if they tried, Palestinians had all the right in the world to resist.

          The recurrent attempts to justify the cruel dispossession and occupation of the Palestinian people adducing cultural superiority and seniority of the Jewish civilization over the Palestinian one are obvious signs of the cynicism and racism of Israel's supporters.

          • Posted By: concerned liberal @ 05/23/2009 11:20:46 AM

            Yeah, I get it. Both peoples have at many times in history in the place that they both claim to be exclusively their own. OK, is that getting it enough? How about getting beyond the "what shoulda been, or if the world was a fair place" attitude!

            The so called palestinian people elected hamas as their legal representative, period! Hamas is accepted as a terrorist organization by most of the nations of this planet! Electing a representative is the clearest way to accept responsibility for the representatives actions placing those so called palestinians in exactly the same position as the 60% of Germans who did not specifically request world domination but did get the sharp end of the stick during WWII. Any attack by hamas is a defacto state sponsored declaration of war on behalf of the so called palestinians, plain and simple and every one of those who voted for the dream of "pushing the Israelis into the sea" are culpable in the most ultimate of all futures which is "does Israel have the balls to react violently". There is no possible way to believe that those voters did not understand the hamas "business plan", it is spelled out clearly for all to read or have it read to them in the case of those uneducated so called palestinians.

            Life is not about what would have been the most altruistic outcome that "should have happened, it is about facing the reality that the strong and willing to exercise that strength will sublimate the weak and stupid. The best case senario for the so called palestinians is to accept the Israeli state, and accept a better life for them and their children. If they do not accept, the best senario is generations of more Israeli incursions with thousands more dead, the worst case is Iran or some of the other arab countries decide to attack Israel and then it is really on for all arabs, and we both already know that the entirety of the arab world would quickly fall leaving Israel a far larger country that it is now and those lands will be much better fertilized!

            • Posted By: froy1100 @ 05/23/2009 12:09:12 PM

              The "so called Palestinian people", as you like to call them, implicitly denying their very existence, have been suffering Israel's oppression and ethnic cleansing policies for decades, even accelerated during the "so called peace process", where Israel launched an aggressive campaign of land grab, construction of illegal settlements and implementation of all kinds of barriers (Jew-only roads, checkpoints, separation walls...) that completely destroyed Palestine's economy. It's only normal that they refused to back the leaders that had decided to cooperate with their oppressors in exchange for personal wealth and power, and had chosen instead to elect the factions that still were willing to resist and confront those criminal practices.

              What Israel is asking the Palestinians to accept is not an Israel within the internationally recognized 1967 borders, but one in continuous expansion that has reduced their ancestral land to a few scattered bantustans, that make the viability of a sovereign Palestinian state totally impossible.

              See by yourself:

              http://basenorte.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/imagen-9.png
              http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/IMG/jpg/Palestineorientale-big.jpg

              Seeing that the International Community will only allow Israel drag its feet in "peace processes", talks and conferences while they keep their unstoppable expansion of settlements on Palestinian land, there is little option left for the oppressed other than resistance.

              • Posted By: concerned liberal @ 05/26/2009 2:00:41 PM

                As I said before, wishing the world was the fantasy land of polly anna is a sure way to be in enternal inner strife and never being able to accept the events of history and all the flaws and inequities is a direct map to the road tward madness since no one is going to right the wrongs and the strong always prevail over the weak!

  • Posted By: Gopman12 @ 05/20/2009 9:39:31 AM

    The two previous posters must be Jews because they ignore all the atrocities of israel. Why does the israeli government continue to build illegal settlements? Why does the israeli government kill civilian women and children? Why does the israeli government steal land from the Palistinians? Why have the last 5 PM of israel been accused of theft of services and stealing from the israeli government?

    • Posted By: concerned liberal @ 05/21/2009 1:28:40 PM

      Why does the israeli government kill civilian women and children? Why does the israeli government steal land from the Palistinians?

      The Israeli government kills civilian women and children because: That is what happens in war, and the so called palestinians continually initiate acts of war!

      Why does Israel take land from the palestinians: That is what happens to the losers of wars that they continually initiate and yet still need to be held at a further distance like vicous dogs on a long leash!

      Does that cover the horrible facts of life as an unprepared insistant combatant?

      Let me ask you a question, why do we have to kill the fleas that only want to drink our dogs blood, can't we make a comfortable home for them instead?

      • Posted By: froy1100 @ 05/23/2009 12:18:40 PM

        That is the very essence of racism: considering other people as inferior beings, subhuman, "Untermensch", according to the Nazis, "cockroaches", according to the Utus, and "fleas", according to you.

        Certainly what Israel did in Gaza was like killing trapped fleas in a box, rather than a war. But they were not fleas...

        • Posted By: concerned liberal @ 05/26/2009 10:52:45 AM

          That is the very essence of ignoring the important issue of a statement only to search for an issue in semantics, the issue is(and you do ignore that well), what is just and right does not generally have any bearing on the way reality plays out! Let me spell it out more clearly: The so called palestinians are too weak even with all the support of the entire arab world to attack and win against the Israelis, fact...........The so called palestinians duely elected a terrorist organization that clearly spells out its' agenda to "drive Israel into the sea" and that is identical to having elected Hitler, fact...............The so called palestinians will continue to attack Israel, and Israel will continue to retaliate and have overwelming "body count ratios"(way more kills than the enemy as I count it about 100 to 1), fact.................The only thing keeping this from coming to an overall ending is the full attack of the arab forces of syria, iran, etc, etc, etc, and with that happening there will be not even a small minority of the U.N. that doe not allow for Netanyahu to do his thing, and we all know that will be the end for hundreds of thousands of arabs, fact..................The so called palestinians have a chance to co-exist with all the falsefied trimmings of their own state but will in all certitude continue to opt for more starving, aid, and death, fact................so be it!

        • Posted By: froy1100 @ 05/23/2009 12:27:17 PM

          Hutus :-p

    • Posted By: brydges @ 05/20/2009 12:09:19 PM

      By that logic you must be a jihadist

  • Posted By: blackhawk12 @ 05/21/2009 12:18:02 AM

    The Arabs who now claim to be natives of the Holy Land have migrated to Palestine after 1918, from neighboring Arab countries, predominantly from areas now known as Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. None of these countries existed as nations prior to 1913. . Even Yassir Arafat, was not a native of the Holy Land. He was born in 1929 in Cairo, Egypt. He served in the Egyptian army, studied in the University of Cairo, and lived in Cairo until 1956. He then moved to Saudi-Arabia and founded the Al-Fatah terror organization, the precursor to the PLO, in Kuwait in 1958, together with his Saudi-Arabian friends.

    • Posted By: froy1100 @ 05/21/2009 7:16:53 PM

      What a pile of manure. Before the first massive wave of European immigrants in 1882, Palestine had always been inhabited by an overwhelming (90%+) majority of Arabs, Murslim and Christians, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Stop spewing outdated propaganda and long-debunked hoaxes.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine#Demographics_in_the_late_Ottoman_and_British_Mandate_periods

  • Posted By: blackhawk12 @ 05/21/2009 12:21:07 AM

    If there is anyone who still believes that the "Palestinian" nation ever existed before 1948, would they please be kind enough to answer when was it founded and by whom? What was its form of government? What were its borders? Name at least one top "Palestinian" leader before Arafat? Which country ever recognized its existence and when? In which library or museum can we find any of its literature, coins, or historical artifacts?

  • Posted By: concerned liberal @ 05/21/2009 11:43:45 AM

    Anyone can get people to "line up" for something that is free, the better question is: Can he get it through their thick skulls that they can not possibly win any confrontation with Israel, and that if they are willing to accept the Israeli state that they could have their own state instead of living in poverty hoping for a miracle that would "drive the Israelis into the sea"?

  • Posted By: Oldenoughto @ 05/21/2009 10:13:18 AM

    I do not and never will understand the demand for Isreal to give up territory it gained control of after being attacked (repeatedly) by it's neighbors and then kicking their butts. Name one other country which has been required to give up land it took away from nations which attacked it.

  • Posted By: seward @ 05/19/2009 9:44:39 PM

    Hamas needs to stop the rockets and recognize that Israel has a right to exist. Perhaps then there may be a chance of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Iran is another story. If they persist in developing a nuclear bomb and openly state that Israel must be wiped off the map then the chance for peace is very dire indeed. Israel must be on constant guard and ready to defend their homeland.

  • Posted By: seward @ 05/19/2009 9:38:41 PM

    Good analysis - Hamas needs to recogniize that Israel has a right to exist and stop the rockets. Perhaps then there weill be a chance for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Iran is another story given their current drive for a nuclear weapon. Israel must keep a constant guard and be ready to defend their homeland..

  • Posted By: Lee Holmes @ 05/19/2009 8:06:25 PM



    Those who demand such concessions from the Israelis that include the ending of settlements and withdraw from others.

    What do you demand that HAMAS and FATAH bring to the table in return?

  • Posted By: Jack999 @ 05/19/2009 12:30:38 PM

    USA must STOP his Unconditonal Love towards Isreal immedately for the Sake of its Own Natonal Security,We all Know that Isrealis are indirectly happy to turn many Islamic fanatics to become "Terrorists"with their cleverly creations now emerging terorists existence looks like a real security treat to Isrealis and the world.
    A country with Nuclear Power capabilities cannot be compares with neigboring countries that doesn't have proper arms,let alone Nuclear Power,with that reasons makes them continously Slaughters his neigbors.Now we all understood why the German's Nazi saw and single hand out them from other many various ethnic group as very dangerous minds capable with gven opportunity to be brillant manipulators .Real facts.

    A Zionist,a only single country with Nuclear Power capability in Middle-East with USA blessing and total support by USA continously with financial ,Arsenal Supports.
    Lucky now President Obama start to realise this Huge mistakes made by past US Presidents President Obama intiatate Isreal to sign the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty directly to Visiting Isrealis Prime Minister now to try correct US past.

    Afganistan,Iran,Iraq,many US former Allies,now becoming US enemies,Most recently Pakistan,Iran under real pressure by Islamic Extremist ,What worrying Facts now Countries like Turkey,Eygpt,Jordan,Saudi Arabia, a very Close US partner start to crack up if USA doesn't make a Change 180 turn around or we might likely to Loose them as Amercan close Allies.

    Today's Turkey is a part of the Islamic world, supporter of Russian Eurasian policy, a kind neighbor and partner of its historical opponents, Iran and Syria. The quadrilateral alliance is here but its members are different. This is an alliance of Eurasian states: Russia - Turkey - Iran - Syria.
    Since the end of the last decade, Russia has made desperate efforts to return to Middle Eastern politics as a superpower. Thus it has, for example, strengthened relations with Iran and Syria.
    This policy reached its apogee when, in defiance of Washington's fierce protests, Moscow cooperated with Tehran in the nuclear sphere, and in a pointedly royal manner embraced Bashar Asad during his visit to Russia in January 2005, writing off Syria's debt and signing the agreement on missile deliveries to Damascus (see below).
    Turkey, in its turn, is panicking after Saddam Hussein's overthrow, fearing creation of a Kurdish state in Iraq. Aspiring to prevent such a succession of events, Ankara has been drawn to Iran and Syria. Sworn enemies turned if not friends, then allies, in almost no time.
    Iran has committed to adding the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) to its " terrorist organizations" list. Turkey has done the same concerning the Iranian group "Mojahedin Halk". The parties have announced an upcoming doubling of the volume of their trade..
    American attempts to prevent this visit and the subsequent rapprochement between recent enemies was a failure.

  • Posted By: skeetchamp @ 05/19/2009 11:36:17 AM

    Bush's "crusade" to "bring democracy to the middle east" has caused multiple disasters. Lebanon ELECTED Hizbullah , who are run by Syria, which is in turn run by Iran. Palestinians ELECTED Hamas, who are run by Iran. Iraq ELECTED the Shiites, who are run by Iran. These consequences were easily foreseeable by anyone who thought before acting. Thanks to Bush, Iran is in the driver's seat of the "peace" process. Iran reliably ELECTS a radical theocracy that finds Israel and the United States loathesome. In only eight years, the Bush-Cheney-Rove-Rumsfeld team has utterly destroyed America's chances for bringing peace to the middle east.

  • Posted By: dushi @ 05/19/2009 6:47:47 AM

    king abdallah..?? isnt he the bush kiss ass arab who gave a speech to the senate or congress about the need to invade iraq..?? its now expected that the arab world will listen to him dictate the terms to when and how to make peace..?? is everyone mad..??

  • Posted By: Tan Boon Tee @ 05/19/2009 2:17:42 AM

    King Abdullah???s intention of uniting the Arabs is noble. But the reality could be too complex and untamable. His effort may prove futile, and he is really worried about the evitable bloodshed within the next couple of years.

    Obama has had his hands tied as far as the Middle-east conflict is concerned. In his mind, he would want to give his support to the Arabs. However, in reality again, he could not afford to ignore the wish of the Israelis under the government of the rightists. What will transpire from the ongoing talk between the leaders of the two nations could be a helpful indicator to the future of the long troubled land.

    Just that (like in the past six decades) there hasn???t been any amiable solution acceptable to all parties as yet.
    (Tan Boon Tee)

  • Posted By: cassharr @ 05/18/2009 9:05:13 PM

    Well I will say it Israrel was given land by the British in 1948 and the Jews have been pushing for total power since. All wars leads to the false Jews who are out looking for revenge and power. They do not want peace they want to control the entire world based on the want us all to believe they are the chosen ones, well if they are the chosen ones only then we all here are wasitng our time. But the good news is that's a lie! All who seek and love God above all else are the chosen ones!

  • Posted By: taniashaina @ 05/18/2009 4:13:00 PM

    It's morally repugnant that Newsweek provides a platform for the dissemination of anti-Semitic lies and libels. Freedom of speech doesn't mean you have to provide a microphone to racist bigots. Reading the pile of foul smelling comments is like a trip to the outhouse. Newsweek should be telling these creatures to scurry back into their ratholes. Shame on you.

    • Posted By: Michael Sheridan - Sacramento @ 05/18/2009 7:13:49 PM

      I'm so fed up with this line of attack. It's not the first time I've heard it either. My ex and her brother once accused me of being an anti-Semite because I criticized Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank, even though I hadn't said anything about Jews or expressed any view that isn't commonplace in Israel itself.

      If I, as an American, feel perfectly at home criticizing America when I think it's wrong (something that is my American duty), I sure as heck don't think I need to hesitate before criticizing any other country.

      In point of fact, I think I have a slight bias towards Jews as a people, based on their general support for civil rights (here in the States and Europe, anyway) and their tradition of respect for intellectuals. That doesn't mean I'm gonna give a nation that just happens to be run by Jewish people a pass on stuff I'd deprecate from any other country.

      So with all due respect, Tania, you're full of it.

    • Posted By: froy1100 @ 05/18/2009 4:46:15 PM

      Oh no! The ADL is here to... defame anyone who dares to speak up against the atrocities committed by our "beacon of democracy" in the Middle East. Anybody who doesn't agree with Israel's right to kill hundreds of children and ethnic-cleanse Eretz Yisrael of Arabs is an anti-semite!!

  • Posted By: froy1100 @ 05/18/2009 1:07:07 PM

    This shouldn't be about freezing settlement expansion. It should be about settlement (and not just "illegal" outpost) dismantlement, under the serious threat of cessation of economic and military aid from the US to Israel. It is plainly absurd that Israel receives over 3 billion USD every single year, 143 billions since 1949, 1/3 of the total aid the US grants to countries around the world. Only that in this case is not destined to alleviate poverty, but to finance military occupation, land theft, Human Rights violations and war crimes. It amazes me that the American people can tolerate this use of their tax money.

    • Posted By: gerankin @ 05/18/2009 2:05:25 PM

      Froy1100 sums it up accurately.

      If our TV networks would produce and air honest documentaries on the atrocities Israel has been committing for decades, the vast majority of Americans would agree.

      • Posted By: froy1100 @ 05/18/2009 2:51:24 PM

        Then watch Occupation 101 (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2451908450811690589), and show it to everyone you know.

    • Posted By: marymaefay @ 05/18/2009 1:49:29 PM

      I agree completely with froy1100
      All settlements are illegal under international law, including those in "East Jerusalem." Plain and simple- we must stop funding the atrocities committed with our tax dollars.

  • Posted By: sanctuaryvb @ 05/18/2009 2:09:56 PM

    The status quo has failed.

    American policy toward Israel and Palestine has done nothing except prolong the suffering of the Palestinian people and enable the Israelis to keep an iron grip on the West Bank while at the same time sealing off Gaza and its 1.5 million people.

    We desperately need a new American approach that is unbiased and gives equal consideration to both sides.

    Only then will Israel find the courage needed to make the hard decisions that will, ultimately, need to be made.

  • Posted By: jstepp590 @ 05/18/2009 2:00:21 PM

    "And, oh yes, then there's the problem of terrorist attacks expressly designed to derail this peace initiative just as they've derailed so many before." Yes, Israel has used those tactics repeatedly every time there was any real effort to resolve this issue. Really though, it's not up to Israel. I will no longer allow our special interest lbbyist controlled government to support Israel's illegal actions. If Israel doesn't stop building illegal settlements and sabatauging the peace process, then she will just have to find a way to accomplish all that without our support. Fat chance, huh?

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