.............Saad hariri
Mideast peace is now a global problem. And global problems call for global solutions and global leadership. Today this leadership responsibility falls primarily on the United States. President Obama understands well that extremism feeds on injustice. He also recognizes that despair can be exploited to serve sinister agendas. We applaud his determination to restore credibility to the Middle East peace process.
This effort should not be allowed to fail. And that means the time may soon come — I believe we don\\\'t have much time left — when it will be necessary to move from mediation to arbitration. Two possible forums for arbitration are the U.N. Security Council and the so-called quartet of Middle East peacemakers — the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. The United States is the foremost power in both. The key would be that the terms of the final status settlement be defined by an arbiter if the two sides fail to agree. Reaching a settlement in this manner may carry risks, but the cost of continued failure is much greater.
The parameters of a sustainable peace settlement between Palestinians and Israelis, as well as between Israel and the Arab and Muslim worlds, are well established. Successive governments in Israel have turned a blind eye to those parameters, with the mistaken belief that military superiority can bring security. It does not. It only gives birth to new forms of militant extremism, which threaten us all.
As prime minister of Lebanon, it is my duty to shield my country as regional tensions increase and threats become louder. Lebanon\\\'s population may constitute only 1% of the Arab world, but our unique diversity of faiths and our traditional role as a beacon of hope, tolerance, democracy and coexistence in our region give Lebanon a special significance and an impact far wider than its borders.
In the end, it is my strong conviction that real security can come only if the main sources of tension and conflict in the region are removed. This is the message I have brought with me to Washington.
Saad Hariri is the prime minister of Lebanon. (End)
The Los Angeles Times
Mideast peace is now a global problem. And global problems call for global solutions and global leadership. Today this leadership responsibility falls primarily on the United States. President Obama understands well that extremism feeds on injustice. He also recognizes that despair can be exploited to serve sinister agendas. We applaud his determination to restore credibility to the Middle East peace process.
This effort should not be allowed to fail. And that means the time may soon come — I believe we don\\\'t have much time left — when it will be necessary to move from mediation to arbitration. Two possible forums for arbitration are the U.N. Security Council and the so-called quartet of Middle East peacemakers — the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations. The United States is the foremost power in both. The key would be that the terms of the final status settlement be defined by an arbiter if the two sides fail to agree. Reaching a settlement in this manner may carry risks, but the cost of continued failure is much greater.
The parameters of a sustainable peace settlement between Palestinians and Israelis, as well as between Israel and the Arab and Muslim worlds, are well established. Successive governments in Israel have turned a blind eye to those parameters, with the mistaken belief that military superiority can bring security. It does not. It only gives birth to new forms of militant extremism, which threaten us all.
As prime minister of Lebanon, it is my duty to shield my country as regional tensions increase and threats become louder. Lebanon\\\'s population may constitute only 1% of the Arab world, but our unique diversity of faiths and our traditional role as a beacon of hope, tolerance, democracy and coexistence in our region give Lebanon a special significance and an impact far wider than its borders.
In the end, it is my strong conviction that real security can come only if the main sources of tension and conflict in the region are removed. This is the message I have brought with me to Washington.
Saad Hariri is the prime minister of Lebanon. (End)
The Los Angeles Times