The future of the Peace in the Middle East may be decided by water

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Sir, do you know the way to Ankara?"

How does one go about negotiating a peace or resolve a problem when the other side has you surrounded and your people are starving? The State of Israel has been slaughtering Palestinians for the last 60+ years and we make it sound like if the rockets from Hamas, (many home made) would just stop all would be well; how American.

The blockade of Gaza must end, not because it will help in the peace negotiations, and it will, but because to continue it for one more day, one more second is a violation of international law. The State of Israel is an outlaw state and the only reason it gets away with piracy on the high seas, starving hundreds of thousands of children, stealing more and more land, bombing civilians at will, and violating all the laws laid down at Nuremberg is because we support and encourage Israel to continue on its path of its own destruction. Our foreign policy is in direct opposition to peace in the Middle East. The answer does not lie at the feet of the Palestinians and the Israelis, the United States holds all the cards; except one---water rights.

The most interesting event that is going on in the Middle East is the ability of the States in the area to have access to enough water to continue their expansion and Turkey holds that one powerful trump card and will play it shortly. The end to the settlements, the end to the blockade, the opening up of opportunities may come not from Washington but from Ankara, Turkey. We have messed up the peace in the Middle East for 60 years and will screw this one up also, our arrogance is legendary. In a strange way karma may be at work here, in order for Israel to continue to expand the settlements they need water, the country that holds the rights to that water is Turkey.

Israel must deal with Turkey in order to secure the pipelines that will bring water to the deserts and that may be the next war, the war for water. The act of piracy by the Israelis was against a Turkish ship called the Mavi Marmara and that was a major screw up by the Netanyahu government. Watch to see if the Prime Minister survives this incident; I think not.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/news.aspx/138163

Netanyahu does not enjoy much support in Israel, he remains about 50% and moves up and down according to events taking place with resolving the occupation of the Palestinians. The Israelis seem to heavily favor a strong response to any attempt to break the blockade. This will cause more and more violence in the area and the tightening of positions by the parties. We are losing our ability to resolve this international disaster by negotiations. Our representative, Mitchell, should be recalled and fired, he is out of his league and does not have the best interest of the parties, but supports whatever Israel wants to do. He is not an honest broker and we need one immediately, but it may be too late. The elections in the United States will overshadow everything for the next few months, and maybe for the next few years. President Obama may not be able to do anything because of the political events back home, Netanyahu will be replaced, but our support for Israel will continue. The end result will be that our influence in the area will be diminished, Turkey and Iran will be the major players in the region and Israel will start to face a future that they may not like. They may be forced to go to a one state solution not because of rockets or suicide bombers but because of water and where it comes from; Turkey will be calling the shots in a few years.

"Yes I know the way to Ankara, when you get to Turkey from Greece you have to go about 400 km east and ask, they will show you the way."

"It may be that one cannot survive telling the truth about anything now." (Like Orwell said: During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.)

Authors Bio:
Short Bio

I was born in Brooklyn, New York in May of 1942. My first memory was the wonderful block parties that celebrated the end of WW2. I don't remember much but it was exciting and I could see how joyous people could be during a major event.

My cousin Danny and I lived near or actually in the same house for most of our childhood and shared great adventures together. We went from playing marbles to dating girls; it was a magical time in Brooklyn.

I attended Our Lady of Good Counsel grammar school, my early teachers were women and in the fourth grade we were taught by the Franciscan Brothers.

High School was the beginning of a journey that continues to this day. I wondered where I was going and why I was making the trip. I entered the Capuchin Seminary after the eighth grade to study for the priesthood. After 15 months I left the seminary and returned home. My studies allowed me to pick which Catholic high school I was going to attend. I lasted less than a year at Trinity High. One of the teachers excommunicated me from the Catholic Church because I thought birth control was a good idea.

After leaving Trinity, I started full time work, and completed high school at night; I was only sixteen and already lost in the world. I worked at Dictaphone for about four years and played on their softball team. I loved sports and was a good center fielder.

In 1962 I entered the Navy and spent nine years traveling around the world, including two tours in Vietnam. In 1970 I openly opposed the war and asked to be released.

In 1971, I was given an honorable discharged and once again I was looking at a whole new way of thinking. I was married, entered college and in 1979 finally received my Bachelor of Arts from the College of New Rochelle. I went to work at Long Beach Naval Shipyard and retired from civil service in 1995. I was a Union Official most of my time at the yard but did take a supervisory position for the last three years of service.

Since retirement I have been a substitute teacher in Nevada and teacher's aide in Oregon. My two great loves are my four grandchildren and my wife Pat.

Since arriving in Portland in 1999, I have been part of the protest against the Bush Wars, torture and what I see as a loss of our liberties. I am the co-founder of Individuals for Justice, Veterans Against Torture, member of Vietnam Veterans Against War, (VVAW.) I support the Veterans for Peace, Coed Pink and the fight for Single Payer Healthcare. I have been arrested three times, once in Gordon Smith's office, again outside of Congressman's Blumenauer's office, and the last time protesting AIPAC.

My favorite books are: Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, How To Know God by Deepak Chopra, almost anything written by Stephen King.

My favorite movies are: The Shawshank Redemption, Wolfen, Lawrence of Arabia, The Quiet American.

My preferred hobbies are: Enjoying time with family and friends, listening to music and creating things with my hands. I love to write, and completed a play called, -"The Trial of George W. Bush.-"-