A sudden sense of urgency in the Middle East

by Michael G. Mickey

(11-13-05)

You'd think, based on a Haaretz article, the entire future of Middle East peace hinges on what is going to take place in the next 72 hours. Why does that raise an eyebrow as I sit at my desk? Because a contingency from the revived Roman empire (the European Union) is in the Middle East, being led by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. This visit, ironically, is to come to an end in (you guessed it) 72 hours or so - on November 15th!

The Haaretz article details that Quartet Special Envoy James Wolfensohn is presently frustrated "over the lack of change in the atmosphere between Israel and the Palestinians". He is frustrated to the point, or so the article indicates, he is close to a decision to return home. Is that what he means when he says the next 72 hours will be critical for the continuation of his mission or could this simply be Wolfensohn's way of pressuring the Israelis and Palestinians to get moving at this time when emotions are high as Israel laments the loss of the first Israeli leader who signed an agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Yitzhak Rabin? Rabin, you may recall, was gunned down ten years ago.

As Israel reflects on Rabin's death, a natural byproduct of it is renewed discussion of the Oslo Accords, which Rabin, of course, signed in 1993 along with Yasser Arafat at the Clinton White House. Oslo was to see a Palestinian state born in the year 2000 - seven years later.

Now, at a time when the EU is being injected into Middle East peacemaking as a third wheel of sorts, with Israel wanting the Europeans to have more than a mere symbolic presence in the region but rather the power to conduct enforcement at border crossings between Gaza and Israel, former US president Bill Clinton, speaking at Rabin's grave last night, said the following of Rabin, as documented in a Haaretz article:

"I loved him very much and I was in awe of his ability to move from being a soldier to being a peacemaker, a politician to a statesman."

"There has not been a week in the last 10 years where I have not thought of him and missed him. However, many years he had left, he gave them up on this spot for you and your future. If he were here, he would say, `There is enough of all this missing. If you really think I lived a good life, if you think I made a noble sacrifice in death, then for goodness sake take up my work and see it through to the end.'"

So, is Oslo (and its seven-year timeline) dead ---- or is it merely waiting to be confirmed in fulfillment of Daniel 9:27? And could EU peacekeepers with enforcement authority, which Israel wants them to have, be in the works for the Holy Land? These are questions in my mind - ones I've raised in my commentaries on a number of occasions.

The question of whether Oslo is dead has been answered many times, in my opinion, but it never hurts to see that truth presented from time to time, does it? According to the Haaretz article linked above which quotes Clinton, the new leader of Israel's Labor Party, Amir Peretz, doesn't believe it's dead at all! Peretz, speaking of Oslo, is quoted in the article as saying, "The Oslo route is still very much alive. The Oslo route is still the path to peace."

In my last commentary, I spoke of how Bill Clinton's presence in the Middle East coupled with the presence of his old friend Javier Solana, foreign policy chief of the European Union, could play well for the Europeans, furthering any effort the Europeans may be trying to undertake in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I spoke of how the Clintons might have a self-serving interest in helping the EU along, but I believe I may have omitted one of the greatest reasons the Clintons might be willing to do so - Bill Clinton's desire to have a legacy.

While it would be great if peace came to the Middle East by way of an EU peacekeeping force, giving the liberals of America a reason to accuse their conservative counterparts of dropping the ball by going to war with Iraq as a result of "fraudulent and misleading intelligence", what would be better than for a peace plan a Clinton had a big hand in forwarding being confirmed in the Middle East as 2008 draws near, leaving a conservative Republican president's roadmap to peace deader than an upside down armadillo? Hillary's political stock would be way up and Bill Clinton would have what he wants so desperately - a legacy. The fact the EU would make it all happen would be irrelevant against that backdrop, from the Clintons' perspective, in my humble opinion. Not only that, I think the Bush White House might be okay with it as well, hoping it could claim some ownership of peace coming to region by way of its association with the Quartet.

Setting aside conjecture, what I am certain of is the following, concerning peace efforts in the Middle East:

Oslo, with its original seven-year timeframe, is still alive in principle and may yet be the peace plan the prophesied Antichrist will someday confirm.
The memorial services commemorating the death of Yitzhak Rabin will heighten the desire of the international community, as well as the Israelis and peaceful Palestinians, to see peace come to the Middle East. The United States, for example, is presently calling resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian a top priority, as seen in a Haaretz article.
The recent decision that the European Union be involved in monitoring border crossings in the Holy Land is laying the groundwork for the prophesied Antichrist to someday confirm peace in the Middle East, regardless of which plan is actually confirmed in the end.
The European Union is, much as I have said we could expect it to in preparation for the advent of the Antichrist to take place, posturing itself to be the top dog in Middle East peacemaking.

And then there's the "coincidence" of the EU contingency leaving Israel in 72 hours and Wolfensohn saying the time leading up to that taking place is critical to his mission on behalf of the Quartet. If I didn't know better, I'd think Quartet Special Envoy James Wolfensohn was implicitly threatening that, unless something indicative of progress being made toward peace takes place before the EU contingency leaves the Holy Land in 72 hours, the Quartet may start to walk away, upping the ante for both the Israelis and Palestinians to get serious about making peace ---- and fast. Or is it just me?

The end times drama continues....

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