Rami G. Khouri is the director of the Issam Fares Institute at the American University of Beirut and editor-at-large of the Beirut Daily Star. He is a commentator on events in the Middle East who, thankfully, brings a Middle Eastern perspective on things not otherwise regularly available.
Khouri explains - in this op-ed piece in The Age - how Norway is leading in being realisitic in dealing with the facts on the ground in Palestine. In the end sticking one's head in the sand won't work. Eventually, countries will have to deal with the Palestinian-Israel issue and talk with the Palestinians whether Hamas is liked or not.
"US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's "hello" to the Iranian Foreign Minister and her brief "businesslike" meeting with the Syrian Foreign Minister at the international conference on Iraq in Egypt have generated considerable international attention. I join those who see these two gestures as small but significant steps towards a more rational American foreign policy in the Middle East.
It is important to acknowledge when the United States does something sensible in the world, because this happens relatively rarely in the Middle East. In this case, Washington is showing important new strains of maturity, realism and composure that have long been absent from its arsenal. Whatever the reason for the slow revisions in American policy, the change is to be welcomed. Those to whom the United States says hello should respond with a gracious "and hello to you too, Ma'am," so that simple courtesies can quickly move towards serious dialogue that leads to meaningful diplomatic negotiations for mutually satisfying policy changes on all sides."
Khouri explains - in this op-ed piece in The Age - how Norway is leading in being realisitic in dealing with the facts on the ground in Palestine. In the end sticking one's head in the sand won't work. Eventually, countries will have to deal with the Palestinian-Israel issue and talk with the Palestinians whether Hamas is liked or not.
"US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's "hello" to the Iranian Foreign Minister and her brief "businesslike" meeting with the Syrian Foreign Minister at the international conference on Iraq in Egypt have generated considerable international attention. I join those who see these two gestures as small but significant steps towards a more rational American foreign policy in the Middle East.
It is important to acknowledge when the United States does something sensible in the world, because this happens relatively rarely in the Middle East. In this case, Washington is showing important new strains of maturity, realism and composure that have long been absent from its arsenal. Whatever the reason for the slow revisions in American policy, the change is to be welcomed. Those to whom the United States says hello should respond with a gracious "and hello to you too, Ma'am," so that simple courtesies can quickly move towards serious dialogue that leads to meaningful diplomatic negotiations for mutually satisfying policy changes on all sides."
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