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Ray · 03-23-2008, 14:49 PM

Quote:

Cheney holds Middle East peace talks

23/03/2008 - 10:25:44 AM US Vice President Dick Cheney began Easter Sunday with a prayer and the singing of “Amazing Grace” at a tiny chapel in Jerusalem, then launched into a day of talks about the Mideast peace process and the rising influence of Iran in the region.

US Vice President Dick Cheney began Easter Sunday with a prayer and the singing of “Amazing Grace” at a tiny chapel in Jerusalem, then launched into a day of talks about the Mideast peace process and the rising influence of Iran in the region.

“We are obviously dedicated to doing all we can as an administration to try to move the peace process forward, and obviously actively involved in dealing with the threats that we see emerging in the region – not only threats to Israel, but threats to the US as well,” said Cheney, a strong supporter of Israel, in a meeting with President Shimon Peres.

It was clear that Cheney was referring to Iran, but Peres was more specific, saying the anti-Israel declarations that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes against Israel, and Iran’s support for Lebanese and Palestinian militant groups, cannot be ignored.
IOL: Cheney holds Middle East peace talks
“We have this problem of the Iranians who want to build two satellites, the Hezbollah (in Lebanon) and the Hamas in Gaza. … Nobody can control us and say that declarations by Ahmadinejad are less serious,” Peres said. “We have to take it seriously.”

He said time is of the essence in the peace process, but that he believes progress is achievable.

“The mere fact that in spite of the differences the negotiations go on is a great hope for the future,” Peres said.

Israel has been pursuing peace with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas since the two sides relaunched talks at a US-sponsored conference in November. At the same time, it has been battling Hamas, which wrested control of the Gaza Strip in June from Abbas-allied forces and has bombarded southern Israel with rockets.

There has been a recent lull in the Gaza violence, however, amid Egyptian efforts to broker a truce.

Nimer Hamad, a political adviser to Abbas, said he saw no chance for an agreement in 2008 if Israel continued settlement expansion and its military incursions: “Without strong American intervention and pressure on Israel, there will be no progress in the peace talks,” he said.

With the Bush Administration on its way out, how far should this be taken seriously?

The next President will surely have to focus on the US economy that is stated to be in recession as also on the future of US troops in Iraq. Obviously, the President would not find the Middle East peace to be so high on the agenda to pursue.

If so, is this a mere token gesture for history to judge and having no real significance?