May 1st

Interview of U.S. Ambassador Susan E. Rice
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Raghida Dergham - May 1, 2009 - 12:00am


DERGHAM/AL HAYAT: Let me start Ambassador, this May 11 meeting organized by the Russians on the Middle East at the Ministerial level here at the Security Council. Will you be representing the United States or will it be Secretary Clinton? AMBASSADOR RICE: Washington has not made a formal determination as to who will represent us, but either way we will be represented at the Ministerial level. DERGHAM/AL HAYAT: Meaning, because you are a cabinet member, obviously? AMBASSADOR RICE: Yes


King Abdullah’s Cri de Coeur
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Khaleej Times
by Claude Salhani - May 1, 2009 - 12:00am


Of all the countries involved in varying degrees in the Middle East conflict Jordan has always been one of the most moderate voices calling for peace. And of all the Middle East’s leaders, Jordan’s King Abdullah, much like his father King Hussein before him, has always offered a clear, crisp, intelligent analysis of the situation. It must be said that Jordan benefits from one of the better intelligence services in the Arab world.


Hezbollah is Paving the Way for a New War
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Hassan Haidar - (Opinion) April 30, 2009 - 12:00am


What awaits Lebanon and the Lebanese if the opposition wins the coming parliamentary elections? The answer came in the form of a "notification" distributed by the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc to participants in this week's national dialogue session. In it, the party warns of all-out military maneuvers that Israel will carry out at the end of next month, or a week before the elections, with the participation of all of its agencies, institutions and weapons.


Is this the Palestinians' Last Chance?
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Dar Al-Hayat
by Patrick Seale - (Opinion) April 30, 2009 - 12:00am


Will the Palestinians seize the slim chance of statehood offered by President Barack Obama's pledge to work for a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Or will they throw it away because of unresolved inter-Palestinian conflicts? These unspoken questions lay behind the talks which Fatah and Hamas held in Cairo this week, in a last ditch attempt at reconciliation. Three earlier rounds of talks under Egyptian sponsorship ended in failure. This week's negotiations fared little better, so wide is the chasm between these rival Palestinian factions.


The Muslim Brotherhood and the Shia
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Asharq Alawsat
by Tariq Alhomayed - April 29, 2009 - 12:00am


Controversy within the Muslim Brotherhood [MB] is never-ending; as one storm dies down, another begins. The most recent of these odd disputes between leading figures of the Egyptian Brotherhood movement, internally and externally, politically or financially, is related to the [MB] position towards the Shia.



American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017