Well, I have been watching the battles that are and have been fought in the Middle East for a while now.  I have to say that I am really disappointed at the current events.  18 months ago, I was almost positive that the status quo could possibly end.  Arafat had recently died.  Abu Mazen (Abbas) had been elected to replace him as the President of Palestine and therefore the new head of the PLO.  Then Israel pulled out of Gaza. 

The hope of a new Middle East slowly died.  First, Hamas used the Gaza pull out as a victory instead of a new beginning.  Hamas won the majority in the Palestinian Parliament.  This was not a surprise to me.  Fatah, Arafat and Abu Mazen's party has been mired in dealing with Palestinian money being used to fatten their supporters instead of for the good of the Palestinian people, while Hamas has been bringing in money into Gaza for years.  They have used the money to provide basic services from garbage pick ups, money for health care to setting up schools.    Now Hezbollah has decided to go all out against Israel. 

For the majority of Palestinians, life really had not improved since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993.  They are still living under the control of Israel.  They do not have jobs that provide enough money to support their families.  They have a leadership that has become more concerned with staying in power rather than bettering the life of the average Palestinian.  They are tired of living in fear. They are tired of the extremist inciting the Israeli Military to crack down on all Palestinians.

Israel has a moderate voice that rarely gets voiced in the Israeli government.  These people are just as tired of the Israeli occupation of Palestine as the Palestinians are.  They are tired of Israeli extremist controlling the government.  They are tired of being scared of the possibility of being the victim of a suicide bomber. 

A book that does a great job of explaining Abu Mazen's (Abbas) role in negotiations for Peace. 
A book that does a good job of explaining the history of the Arab/Israeli conflict. 
A book that is written by an Israeli.  It tells the story of the silent Israel.  It is about the Israel that is seldom talked about in the United States.
This a great book that explains Middle East and Africa Politics.  It explores Islamic governments as well as the Non-Islamic governments of Pre-Invasion Iraq and Lebanon.

Other than being really sad at the new and continuing violence in the Middle East, I have to question whether the US is able to be a good mediator. 

At Portland State University, every student seeking a Bachelor's Degree has to take a series of classes called Cluster.   I chose the Middle East Cluster because I really wanted to understand not only what was going on now, but what led up to the hatred that exists today.  As many Americans, I really did not understand why a group of 19 Militant Islamists decided to attack the United States on September 11, 2001.  But I was determined to try and figure it out.  I started to read.  I started to ask questions.  I started to discuss issues. 

Today, I am wondering if the Middle East will ever be a peaceful place.