Mid-East Peace, a Century and Counting

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071126/ap_on_go_pr_wh/mideast_summit

So...Bush wants to add his stamp on a peace process that has involved a half-dozen presidents of the US, Israel and Palestine, as well as countless other intermediaries? If that is his attempt to make a last effort for some positive place in history I think he should throw all of his dwindling political authority behind it.

What I see as the biggest problem is that the Palestinian leader recognized by this process has no control over the Hamas, who now have control of Gaza, so he's not speaking as the leader of a unified Palestinian people. On top of that, there have been three generations between the ejection of Palestinians from their homes and communities, so any claim over those properties is nil.

This is also a battle that is as old as recorded history. The ethnic group that formed the Jewish civilization have fought against those of the Arab culture since their first inception, as slaves and as free people, so how anyone expects there to be peace between the two groups seems foolish.

A Mid-East peace conference should instead focus on how to politically stabilize the region as a whole, opening conversations with countries like Syria to try and find common ground, and discussing topics like nuclear disarmament and radical terrorism, or even, GASP!, economic stability, quality of health care and education, unemployment rates, and those other things that drive people to fundamentalism and violence.

When are we going to decide to have conversations focused on topics that are actually productive and constructive rather than theoretical and existential?