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  • Newsart for The Vision and the Fantasy

    The Vision and the Fantasy

    JERUSALEM – Israel, an audacious vision that came true, is now celebrating its 65th anniversary with a sense of well-deserved satisfaction a…

  • Newsart for Autumn of the Patriarchs

    Autumn of the Patriarchs

    MADRID – “How difficult it is to die!” Francisco Franco is reputed to have exclaimed on his deathbed. Death, it seems, is always particularl…

  • Newsart for Why Iran Won’t Budge

    Why Iran Won’t Budge

    TEL AVIV – No one really believed that the latest round of international negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program would produce a bre…

  • Newsart for Arab States of Uncertainty

    Arab States of Uncertainty

    MADRID – The revolutions that swept the Arab world during the last two years have exposed the extraordinary fragility of key Arab states. Wi…

  • Newsart for Global Zero at Ground Zero

    Global Zero at Ground Zero

    MADRID – Since its launch in December 2008, Global Zero, the vision of a world without nuclear weapons, has run up against some formidable c…

  • Newsart for Colombia at Peace?

    Colombia at Peace?

    BOGOTÁ – The Framework Agreement for the End of the Armed Conflict in Colombia that has just been announced by President Juan Manuel Santos …

  • Newsart for Revolution in a Vacuum

    Revolution in a Vacuum

    MADRID – The Cold War is long over, but superpower rivalry is back. As a result, the international community’s capacity to unite in the face…

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Shlomo Ben-Ami: War and Peace

Is an Islamic civil war underway? Can a Pax Americana still take hold in the Middle East? Is "national security" an outdated concept? Is the “war on terror” winnable? Can the UN's ability to resolve conflicts and keep the peace be strengthened?

When communism collapsed, some saw the "End of History" at hand. No longer. The quagmire in Iraq now jeopardizes America's influence, as Russia returns to oil-funded global prominence and new superpowers rise in India and China. Peace in the Middle East appears more distant than ever. Failed states proliferate, as do nuclear weapons. History, it seems, has returned with a vengeance.

Shlomo Ben-Ami is the former Israeli foreign minister who came closest to devising a viable peace agreement between Israel and Palestine. A renowned historian of fascism, as well as a seasoned diplomat, Shlomo Ben-Ami has not only struggled – practically and daily – with the problems of war and peace; he is intellectually engaged with the historical currents and ideas that underlie armed conflict. Unlike many leaders, Ben-Ami acknowledges realities and sees opportunities that others overlook or choose to ignore. His unflinching honesty and tough-minded idealism enabled him to recognize the injustices suffered by the Palestinians, as well as the failures of leadership – on both sides.

While in office, Ben-Ami negotiated with the Palestinians. As a Project Syndicate commentator, he will regularly invite Palestinian and other Arab leaders to engage with him in debates and exchanges of ideas, to be featured in the War and Peace series.

Every month, in, War and Peace written exclusively for Project Syndicate, Shlomo Ben-Ami will bring his commitment to historical truth and appreciation of the legitimate claims of the "other" to bear not only on the Middle East, but also on the myriad wars, and causes of war, that trouble our age.

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Shlomo Ben-Ami

Shlomo Ben-Ami, a former Israeli foreign minister and internal security minister, is Vice President of the Toledo International Center for Peace. He is the author of Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy.

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