Thanks to Fatah's ineptitude and corruption, Israel's shortsightedness, and the Bush administration's misguided policies, Hamas is now in control of the Gaza strip, setting the stage for potentially ominous developments…

Perhaps more than anything else, the fortieth anniversary of the 1967 Six Days War has shown a spotlight on the present crisis of leadership in the Middle East. Israel is now being led by a government paralyzed by self-inflicted wounds, a government that lost its compass in the wake of the war with Hezbollah along with the courage to risk seizing the initiative and taking real steps toward peace…

Israel's momentous withdrawal from Gaza and the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, while substantially reducing the level of violence in the past eight months, have not produced the hoped-for momentum to propel the peace process forward.

The recent conference on Iraq, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, and attended by more than 50 countries representing half of the world's population, seems at first glance to underscore the "great interest so many countries have displayed" over the future of that torn country. But, perhaps we should lay it on the line and ask, "Who really cares about Iraq itself?"

However damning Judge Eliyaho Winograd's report may be regarding the Prime Minister's conduct of the second war in Lebanon, it would be far more damning and destructive for Israel if the political leaders seeking to replace Mr. Olmert lose sight of Israel's ultimate national interests. They must seek a national consensus not only in order to deal with present dangers but to seize the opportunity that the Arab Initiative presents for achieving a comprehensive peace…

The Israeli government should accept the Arab initiative because it has a solemn obligation to explore any possibility, however remote, to peacefully end the Arab-Israeli conflict. Israel can accept the Arab initiative in principle, and as long as it negotiates in earnest, the whole world will listen to its legitimate national concerns…

Historically and theologically, the Jews could be, and to a certain extent were being, trusted by Muslims as long as they were subordinate to the Muslims. Since the beginning of Zionism and the establishment of Israel, the Palestinians have been called upon to trust Israelis when they are powerful.

The flurry of activity surrounding the reintroduction of the Saudi initiative at the Arab League Summit in Riyadh in late March is entirely different from the atmosphere when it was originally adopted by the Arab states during their Beirut meeting five years ago. The convergence of ominous developments…

For the U.S. representative, during the regional conference held in Bagdad on March 10, to actually sit at the same table with the Iranian and Syrian delegates represents, in itself, an important development. The next such meeting, scheduled for early April, and at the foreign minister level, offers the Bush administration a tremendous opportunity to go beyond Iraq's internal strife. With vision, boldness, and careful planning, Washington can open the door to bilateral talks on larger regional security issues…