A Book "Review: The 'New Middle East' by Shimon Peres (Part Three)

Article Title: A Book "Review: The 'New Middle East' by Shimon Peres (Part Three)
Submitted by: Craig Lock
Key Words (Tags): Shimon Peres, Middle East, Israel, books, Shimon Peres, Middle East, Israel, books

Web sites: http://middleeastpeacewriter.wordpress.com/ and www.craigsbooks.wordpress.com
The submitter's blog (with extracts from his various writings: articles, books and new manuscripts) is at http://en.search.wordpress.com/?q=craig+lock and http://craiglock.wordpress.com
Other Articles are available at:
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/user/15565 and http://www.ideamarketers.com/library/profile.cfm?writerid=981
(Personal growth, self help, writing, internet marketing, spiritual, 'spiritual writings' (how 'airey-fairey'), words of inspiration and money management, how boring now, craig

Publishing Guidelines:
This article may be published with acknowledgment to Element Books Ltd .Thank you. All my other articles may be freely published electronically or in print.

"We share what we know, so that we all may grow."

*

THE NEW MIDDLE EAST by Shimon Peres with Arye Naor Published in Great Britain by Element Books Ltd 1993

"When you do the common things of life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world."
- George Washington Carver (1864-1943)

Submitter's Note:
I am currently reading and researching a fascinating book, 'THE NEW MIDDLE EAST' by former Israeli Prime Minister and current President, Shimon Peres (with Arye Naor), especially in the light of current world events. So am sharing some thoughts and ideas of Mr Peres directly sourced from this book (the first three chapters). In "my little way" I'm sharing in the "spirit of just trying to plant tiny seeds, ideas of hope and peace in a current 'hot-spot' of the world, a tinderbox." Hopefully! Whether you agree with the words of Mr Peres written in 1993 or not, I hope you may find these points and notes as revealing and illuminating as I do in attempting to understand this highly complex and volatile region.

# #

A BOOK "REVIEW: 'THE NEW MIDDLE EAST' by Shimon Peres (with Arye Nao - Part Three)

"We can begin today by taking the first steps across the bridge of mutual co-operation and understanding among Middle East peoples. The journey ahead will be long, but the way is open. We need brave travellers."
- Shimon Peres, former Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs

The problems of this region of the world cannot be solved by individual nations, or even on a bilateral or multilateral plane. Regional organization is the key to peace and security and will promote democratization, economic development, national growth and individual prosperity. Establishing peace and security requires a conceptual revolution. Our ultimate goal is a regional community of nations with a common market.

Political stability: Introduce a new framework for the region that will provide the potential for economic and social growth, extinguishing the fire of religious extremism and cooling the hot winds of revolution.

Economics:

A higher standard of living is a pre-condition for mitigating the tensions among Middle Eastern countries. As long as there is a gap between people's expectations and the opportunities within the socio-political system, there will be space for fundamentalism to develop.

Only a practical regional approach can fully exploit the potential for tourism and public communications in this rich area of the world, making the region prosperous for its people. Democratization Democracy is not only a process that guarantees personal and civil freedom, but is also a watchdog for peace, working to dispel the factors that underlie fundamentalist agitation. Ultimately only a democratic system will allow for long-term prosperity and economic growth, as well as national and personal security. There needs to be a predetermined two-phase peace process. Security - the prevention of war and the establishment of a secure, bilateral order - will be the dominant issue in the first, or transitory, phase. The process should be based on a timetable. I've heard it said that a pier is a frustrated bridge. Until now there was an Israeli pier and a Palestinian pier. We intend to build a bridge of time, a bridge of five years, that will connect the two piers and put an end to the frustration. Thus, the main aim of this first phase of the peace process is to decrease friction and eliminate the sources of hostility by establishing mutual trust and a willingness to consider the future. It is a transitory stage - a passage from one step to the next - in a journey with a clear destination. The principal goal is to establish a stable system of good neighbourly relations.

Spinoza once said: "Peace is not the absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice."
#

REGIONAL ECONOMICS

The concept of a regional economy involves the step-by-step establishment of a community of nations, much like the European community. However, these European nations did not negate their neighbour's right to exist.

The Middle East today needs courage and forethought, imagination and insight - novel ideas and creative concepts in building a brave new world.

David Ben-Gurion, first Prime Minister of the State of Israel said that all experts are experts on what already was. “We need experts on what will be.“

In the Middle East we have a common enemy: poverty. And as the 'father of fundamentalism', poverty is a threat to progress, development, freedom and prosperity. And we have so much to gain, if only we know how to bridge the abyss of blood and tears - if we look forward in hope, not back in anger.

We can start by defining the ultimate goal and then work backward, establishing interim goals and allocating the proper tools to reacgh them. Open new horizons for people of the region. Strive for prosperiy, development and human rights.

The key issues are as follows:
1. disarmament
2 water
3 biotechnology
4 transportation and communication
and
5 tourism

Moving from a strategy of military superiority to one of economic cooperation will help us choose the correct path, and future generations will thank us.

*
CHAPTER 5.

THE BASIS FOR SECURITY: A NEW WAY OF THINKING

Breaking that psychological barrier is the precondition for success in our quest for peace and prosperity in the Middle East. The two sides must learn to see each other as people to understand each other's desires and doubts, hopes and fears. This is not an easy task; but is essential for harmony and security.

There is no military answer to radical terrorism. We live in a world of new problems and old strategies. It is simpler to fight an enemy than solve problems. Moving from a strategy of military superiority to one of economic cooperation will help us choose the correct path, and future generations will thank us!"

The words of Shimon Peres* (in 1993!)

* Shimon Peres is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as Prime Minister of Israel and once as Acting Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years. Peres was elected to the Knesset in November 1959 and, except for a three-month-long hiatus in early 2006, served continuously until 2007, when he became President. He is also a former winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 * info from Wikipaedia)

"The peace of the brave is within us; but we are still reaching."

- Former US President Bill Clinton at the peace signing ceremony between Israeli Prime Minister Yatzhik Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat on the lawn of the White House in 1993.

Sadly, things have got a lot worse in the Middle East since those "hope filled" days of 1993. The "prophecy", the vision, the dream has not come to pass... YET!

The tide of war must soon start receding!

So ...

KEEP REACHING, BE BRAVE

Shared by craig "an arm-chair warrior just writing for peace" *
* or at least a more peaceful world

'just an ordinary person and writer trying to do something' ("rather impulsively and passionately") through the power of words and using the amazing technology of the 'net'.

"Let us not negotiate out of fear, but let us not fear to negotiate."
- John F Kennedy

"There can be no peace without reconciliation and there can be no reconciliation. without justice."
- Corazin Aquino (former Prime Minister of the Phillipines)

"If I must choose between righteousness and peace, I choose righteousness."
- Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919, Twenty-Sixth President of the United States of America from 1901-1909, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize

"Wars are poor chisels for carving out a peaceful tomorrow."
- Martin Luther King, Jnr

"Peace is the greatest weapon for development, that any people can have."
- Nelson Mandela

PS:
"Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own."
- inspirational words from John F Kennedy on the occasion of his inaugeration as President

"Let each one of us build bridges rather than barriers, openness rather than walls. Let us look at distant horizons together in a spirit of acceptance, helpfulness, co-operation and peace. Let our leaders look at the future with a vision - to see things not as they are, but what they could one day become."

"When people's hearts are filled with love, the world is overflowing with hope"
- craig

"Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tide and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire."
- Teilhard De Chardin

"Peacemakers who sow in peace, will heap a harvest of righteousness."
- James 2:18

"The peace of the brave is within reach. We are still reaching."
- Bill Clinton (at the signing of the peace agreement between Israel's Prime Minister, Yatzik Rabin and Yasser Arafat, leader of the PLO on the lawn of the White House in 1993)

"Let us reach for the world that ought to be, that spark of the divine, that still stirs within each one of us."
- the words of Barack Obama in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway

This article may be freely published (with acknowledgment to the source, thanks)

"Instead of the limits of borders (of countries and of our minds) let us and our leaders expand our sense of possibility... and together let's look at building bridges to distant horizons, far and great. Lord, help us all lift our eyes a little higher."

- craig

Together, one mind, one heart, one life at a time, let's plant the seeds, the hope of a better and brighter tomorrow (future).