“Peace is not just the absence of conflict,’ said former President Clinton speaking at the American University in Dubai, “it is the presence of opportunity and co-operation and a sense of justice and fairness and movement.” It’s far from a new thought, I remember it from graduate school many years ago. But when someone with the stature Bill Clinton has come to have says it, it ceases to be academic and begins to become real, and in context of his speech, makes the meaning that much more undeniable. “What leads people to suicide bombings?” He asked in the same speech, and then answered his own question. “They believe they have more to gain in the next world than in this one.” He went on to say that he saw this feeling as what he called the major danger in front of Palestinians and Israelis.
Whether Mr. Clinton’s thoughts help solve the Middle East crisis or some other crisis in is probably open to question. What is important is that these thoughts now become part of the diplomatic vocabulary and arsenal.
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