Optimism for Middle East Peace

By Courtney Ann Jackson- Talk Radio News Service

Today former British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed to members of Congress his support of a two state
peace solution between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Speaking to the U.S. Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations, Blair said that he looks at the Middle East with the eyes of an optimist.

Significant arguments over territory, refugees, security and water in the region, Blair said, “although immensely challenging, are resolvable.”

He said that if the possibility of a two state solution became a reality, a majority of Palestinian and Israeli citizens would support it.

Blair currently serves as Quartet Representative and was in Washinton to promote the Quartet objectives. He is responsible for revitalizing the Palestinian economy and promoting the Quartet objectives. In his written statement to the Committee, Blair said "The opportunity is there. But it won't remain if not seized. As President Obama has recognized, this is the right time to seize it."

Committee member Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) said that “a peace settlement would require Israeli and Palestinian leaders with thin majorities to get beyond calculations designed to protect their own political interests.” Lugar also said the United States would have to be “very active and very creative” as they aided in the progress toward a settlement.

Blair said that leaders need to make sincere efforts to "reinvigorate the credibility" of a peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority need to “The only unity that works is a unity of genuine agreement,” he said.

Hunger czar a priority

"Hunger is not a partisan issue, but very much a political issue," said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) The Alliance to End Hunger hosted a conference and released an exit poll from Tuesday that looked specifically at hunger issues. Senator Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) and Rep. McGovern both spoke on overcoming the global hunger crisis. Sen. Lugar contextualized the problem by saying that "our diplomatic efforts to maintain peace will be far more difficult wherever food shortages contribute to extremism and conflict." McGovern spoke of a letter intended for President-Elect Obama that advocated the appointment of a "hunger czar" that would coordinate and cooperate between different agencies to minimize food shortages and hunger.

U.S. food aid system antiquated and inefficient

The United States, a country with so much abundance, cannot sit back as impoverished nations suffer from high food prices, said John Hamre, President and CEO of The Center for Strategic and International Studies.

J. Stephen Morrison, Co-Director of the CSIS Task Force on the Global Food Crisis, listed several steps to a pragmatic policy for bipartisan efforts against poverty. He said the emergency response system must be modernized, and monetary commitments doubled. He said rural agriculture must be supported as well. Also, approaches to fuel security must be clarified as well as U.S. trade policy adjusted to support third world capabilities.

Senator Robert Casey (D-Pa.) said the gravity of the world food crisis cannot be overstated. He said the current U.S. food assistance program is antiquated, costly, and inefficient, sometimes taking as long as six months for aid delivery. He plans to work on new development legislation to double the U.S. food assistance commitment. Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) emphasized the potential of genetically modified foods in the fight against rising food costs. He said undeveloped countries are starved of both food and science. The 40countries threatened by food shortages do not use genetically modified foods, and in some cases reject genetically modified food aid.

Former USSR upcoming oil source

Noting Americans’ concern about oil prices, the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee met to discuss energy potential in the Central Asian states. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) said that Central Asia is strategic to US energy security. In his submitted statement, Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) said that Central Asian states would benefit by lessening their reliance on Russia and increasing trade relations with Europe and North America.

Lugar stated that finishing the East-West corridor, a pipeline that would carry oil from the Caspian Sea region to European markets, should become a priority of the transatlantic community. He advocated increasing diplomacy with Kazakhstan, supporting democratic transitions in the region, and linking energy from the Caspian Sea with Central Europe directly.

Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser to President Carter, attended the hearing to discuss US relations with Russia. Brzezinski spoke of a long-term relationship between North America, Europe, and Russia, a relationship he characterized as “Vancouver to Vladivostok.” In this agreement, Brzezinski said that both sides would benefit; Russia would provide energy resources while Europe and North America would supply the necessary infrastructure. Brzezinski said that Russia’s desire to maintain a monopoly on Central Asia and repeatedly cutting energy to the Baltic states damage the potential of this relationship.

Brzezinski also spoke briefly on US relations with Iran. Brzezinski said that the US must recognize Iran’s energy potential, stating that Iran’s government is losing support among its modern and sophisticated youth. Brzezinski added that a military conflict with Iran would not only be extraordinarily destabilizing to the United States in the short run, but that it would also cause the US to become caught in conflict over a large region stretching from Iraq to Pakistan.

Michael Douglas sits down with Sen. Lugar to stop proliferation of WMD's

Actor and producer Michael Douglas visited with Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) in Washington, D.C. to discuss the need to prevent proliferation of weapons and other materials of mass destruction through the Ploughshares Fund and the Nunn-Lugar Act.


Michael Douglas meets with Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) to discuss the Ploughshares Fund and the Nunn-Lugar Act.


Michael Douglas and Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) pose for pictures before meeting to discuss the Ploughshares Fund and the Nunn-Lugar Act.