Peace or no peace?

by Michael G. Mickey

(11-1-06)

As I indicated was going to take place in an earlier commentary, Doctor Javier Solana, foreign policy chief of the European Union, made a trip to the Middle East 10-25-06 thru 10-29-06. His goal was to further dialogue toward re-energizing stalled Middle East peace efforts. How did his visit go? Not too good, in my opinion!

A very brief Israel National News article stated the following of his visit:

Wrapping up a Mideast visit, European Union (EU) Foreign Minister Javier Solana stated that the chance of Israel and the PA (Palestinian Authority) reaching a peace agreement at present is low.

He indicated he hopes to return soon, stating that without reaching an agreement between Israel and the PA, it is unlikely that the region will enjoy stability.

Solana, whose diplomatic skills have seemed brilliant in the past, seems to be staggering like a drunk man lately.

First, Solana struck out in Iran where he futilely attempted to negotiate an end to the Iranian nuclear crisis and failed, which led to rumors he may be on the verge of stepping down from his post due to health reasons or, possibly, levying for greater diplomatic authority to speak on behalf of the EU as a whole, implying that the lack of same was why he didn't succeed in reaching a deal with the Iranian regime led by Mahmoud "Bring on the Apocalypse" Ahmadinejad.

And now this. Another trip to the Middle East by Solana on behalf of the revived Roman empire of Bible prophecy has come to nothing and, on the surface at least, it seems we're back to square one, although, as shown above, Solana will soon be giving it another go in the region.

In his latest Middle East adventure, however, as documented by a Jerusalem Post article, the affable Javier Solana almost seemed determined to blow it, making some of the most ridiculous assertions I've personally ever heard a diplomat of his typical caliber make. Some of the more notable were suggestions that:

• Israel has been "heavy-handed, and in some cases counterproductive, in imposing certain security restrictions on the Palestinians."
• Israel's intense focus on its security is somehow undermining its security, which, from my perspective makes about as much sense as saying a police officer wearing a bulletproof vest only makes him more likely to be shot!
• Israel should not have built the security barrier it did at all, opting instead to protect its citizens from homicide bombers through other unspecified means, none of which worked in the past even close to as well as the security barrier presently is. Thus, the international community's angst.

Clearly, from my perspective, the latest visit to the Middle East by the EU did little to improve its standing in Middle East peacemaking efforts unless there was progress made that the news media hasn't been made privy to. Even so, the EU, as well as many other interested parties, continue to work on the issue around the clock with what I feel is an unprecedented sense of urgency, likely being fueled in no small part by Iran's ongoing nuclear weapons program.

One developing story of interest concerning the revived Roman empire of Bible prophecy in relation to Middle East peacemaking may well be worth keeping an eye on. It involves, as I've commented on a number of times already, Spain's desire to host a peace conference like the 1991 Madrid peace conference which laid the framework for the Oslo Accords.

Recently, as reported by Israel National News, the "Declaration of Alicante” was released after a meeting held between Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and participants from Egypt, Greece, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Turkey, Algeria, France, Tunisia and Libya. The following excerpt from that story is very indicative of why we should be monitoring developments on this front very closely:

"The time has come for a new effort aimed at solving the problems that lie at the heart of the Middle East crisis," the declaration stated. "The Middle East is facing its worst crisis in years following the war in Lebanon and ongoing violence in the occupied territories. The existing international peace plans and initiatives on the Middle East have reached a state of stagnation, with far-reaching consequences in a wider region fueling new challenges to global peace and security."

In addition, the declaration maintained that the U.S. Road Map governing Israeli-P.A. relations is in need of "urgent attention." It called for "the convening of an international conference, aimed at demonstrating political commitment to the renewed multilateral peace process as well as the active support from neighboring countries, regional organizations and third parties."

Moratinos explained that the declaration called for a revision, not a complete rejection of the Road Map, which he himself had helped author. Moratinos said he planned to forward the declaration to the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and Russia for review.

The Israel National News article strikes me oddly, primarily because we see, in this instance, Moratinos, who apparently is a co-author of the Quartet's roadmap to peace at the very least, calling for a revision of the roadmap as opposed to a rejection of it, this coming not even a week after Fox News reported that Moratinos was calling the roadmap "doomed", suggesting that a "major new initiative" was needed to resolve the Middle East conflict.

As most everyone who reads my site regularly knows, it is my suspicion, which I believe time will find to be accurate, that the European Union, desiring to supersede the United States in global influence, is looking for a way to be the shining star of Middle East peacemaking. That seems to be, from my perspective, exactly how it's going to turn out for the Word of God tells us a prince (or leader) of Roman descent will confirm (or make strong) a seven-year covenant of peace between Israel and her enemies "with many" (Daniel 9:26-27), setting into motion the final seven years of human history leading to the visible, physical, bodily return of Jesus Christ and all His saints at the battle of Armageddon.

One final thought on the "Declaration of Alicante": One of the key goals of the meeting that led to the declaration, according to the Egyptian Foreign Minister, was to develop the roadmap peace plan to include "a specific timetable." Sooner or later, Bible prophecy tells us a seven-year timetable is going to be developed.

Peace or no peace? Peace it will be, but when?

That, end times prophecy watchers, is the BIG question!