Subscribe to Print Edition | Wed., August 20, 2008 Av 19, 5768 | | Israel Time: 06:56 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Car Rental Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Last update - 10:15 17/08/2008 A new regional order By Zvi Bar'el Tags: Egypt, Saudi Arabia The heat in Alexandria is not as fierce as it is in Cairo. It is even refreshing compared to the scorching record temperatures in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. For Abdullah, the Saudi king, who visited Hosni Mubarak's palace in Alexandria on Friday, the visit must have been a pleasant repose. He was able to observe the thousands of Saudi nationals vacationing in Egypt, and maybe mumbled something about the more liberal demeanor displayed by female Saudi tourists in Egypt. But the talk between Mubarak and Abdullah did not revolve around fashion or tourism. The two elderly leaders, Abdullah at 84 and Mubarak at 80, are seeing the region they used to lead slipping out of their grip and into that of new players - mavericks over whom they have no sway, bright new stars in the Middle Eastern skies. Advertisement These include Syrian President Bashar Assad, who is half their age; Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is repositioning the former Ottoman Empire into power; and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is blazing like a menacing meteor over the Arab Middle East. The cardinal Middle Eastern conflicts - between Israel and the Palestinians, within the Palestinian Authority, between Syria and Lebanon, between Syria and Israel, the Iraqi conflict, the Iranian threat - they have all changed hands and are now under new management. Erdogan is involved in the Syrian-Israeli conflict, the U.S. is managing Iraq, and Qatar of all countries has stepped in to solve the Syrian-Lebanese crisis - despite being lampooned as an entity whose entire population can be accommodated in one five-star hotel. As for the internal Palestinian dispute between Fatah and Hamas, one need only recall Mubarak's pathetic statement that, "Egypt has sent the invitations and is expecting the reply of both parties." It is against the backdrop of Egypt's focus on its own affairs that one can fully appreciate Turkey's diplomatic boom. Until just a fortnight ago, Erdogan was in danger of having his nomination nixed and his term cut short, had the constitutional court opted to shut down his party and ban him from politics for allegedly engaging in "anti-secular activity." He only just narrowly escaped this threat, but like Popeye flexing his muscles after wolfing down a can of conserved spinach, Erdogan is posing for the cameras. Last week the Syrian president came to spend a vacation chez Erdogan. On Wednesday the Turkish leader worked out a cooperation clause with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to prevent future crises in the Caucasus. On Thursday he hosted the Iranian president, and his foreign minister, Ali Babajan, is a regular visitor at the U.S. State Department in his capacity as mediator between Washington and Tehran. But the change in the Middle East goes deeper than a personnel turnover in the ranks of those running the strategic regional game. A new Middle Eastern regional order is in the making. It is an order that will have to fit into the context of the new cold war developing between Russia and United States, an order in which France in particular and Europe in general regard Iran as a secondary threat, second to Russia's brutal tour de force in the Caucasus. Such demeanor poses a threat for war on Europe's own borders. But regardless of the advent of war, Europe is now at a point where it must make a decision concerning its dependence on Russian oil. The alternative is Iran, and so Tehran can expect to be handled with kid gloves. A few more sanctions, some more tedious negotiations, but nothing more than that. That is, of course, in the hope and under the assumption that a new Iranian president will beat the former Tehran mayor in the race to head the Islamic Republic. Or, alternatively, that a new U.S. president will change the dialogue the U.S. is currently conducting vis-a-vis Iran. It is into this plexus that Israel is interwoven. It may continue to threaten Iran and cajole European countries to downsize their trade with Tehran, it can clarify to Turkey the full repercussions of continuing to invest billions of dollars in a country that threatens Israel's existence - but it cannot act alone. This is no longer a conflict between Israel and the Arabs, in which Israel sets the pace, the venues and the terms. This is the major league. Assad, interestingly enough, has already grasped the new rules of the game and taken full advantage of the free ride the French president offered him. Erdogan has mastered the reigns of several vehicles, thereby transforming Turkey into a central regional axis. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in his chilling style, has transformed Iran into a nuclear power without ever producing so much as a single nuclear device. Israel's young leaders could have easily attended the Abdullah-Mubarak summit in Alexandria. Deprived of vision and initiative, these two heads of state can do little but look around them with bewilderment as they see how everything and everyone is changing without ever asking them what they think about it. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Poor sports Here are the top 10 excuses for Israel's poor Olympics showing. Kafka the Zionist Remnants of Kafka's estate found in T.A. raise questions of his belief in Zionism.   1.   Israel`s Saudi Plan refusal precipitates total ME DESTABILIZATION 10:46  |  Ivar 17/08/08   2.   THE NATIONS IN WAITING: SAUDI AND EGYPT 10:46  |  indrajaya 17/08/08   3.   The new reigional order: The Middle East is free for all. 11:11  |  Akram Zekaria 17/08/08   4.   no this is silly 11:15  |  cool 17/08/08   5.   Israel will have withdraw from Jerusalem 11:42  |  luc 17/08/08   6.   #1 someone should rescue ivar from naivete 11:46  |  victor hardman 17/08/08   7.   A lot of eye blinking 11:58  |  Natallie Durson 17/08/08   8.   luc it`s all the Jews fault! again and again 12:17  |  x-ray 17/08/08   9.   about egypt saudia 12:36  |  lebanese woman 17/08/08   10.   @7 natallie... 12:42  |  samos 17/08/08   11.   Thanks for your confirmation of my reasoning, Victor 13:44  |  Ivar 17/08/08   12.   5. Israel will have withdraw from Jerusalem 13:50  |  BM 17/08/08   13.   The privilege of living in peace. 13:53  |  Dr D 17/08/08   14.   Some things don`t change 13:53  |  Motic 17/08/08   15.   #11ivar claims to be able to reason 14:20  |  victor hardman 17/08/08   16.   To Luc from Paris 14:26  |  Serenity 17/08/08   17.   80% of jerusalem belongs to the palestinien people 14:28  |  luc 17/08/08   18.   To x-ray 14:34  |  Serenity 17/08/08   19.   To BM 14:51  |  Serenity 17/08/08   20.   Luc Jerusalem was never a Palestinian City ! 14:52  |  Akram Zekaria 17/08/08   21.   Saudi and Egypt lost control. Almost nuclear Iran is the new boss 15:16  |  Aounist 17/08/08   22.   #17 luc and where is the crude oil 15:22  |  victor hardman 17/08/08   23.   To Akram Zakaria 15:25  |  Serenity 17/08/08   24.   AZ, 20, Palestinian genaology proves they are native to Palestine 15:36  |  Ivar 17/08/08   25.   To Victor Hardman 15:38  |  Serenity 17/08/08   26.   oil in 1973 and 2008 15:45  |  luc 17/08/08   27.   Good news for Luc #17 16:18  |  Joe Camel 17/08/08   28.   Good way to write off the expense of a vacation 16:25  |  Ilan 17/08/08   29.   SAUDIS Allowing Jihadis to Jihad as long as it was outside S.Arab 16:33  |  PETER SM 17/08/08   30.   IVAR Palestinians in their own Covenant call themselves Arabs!! 16:51  |  PETER SM 17/08/08   31.   IVAR.Shiites &Sunnis tribes and clans would love each other. 17:05  |  PETER SM 17/08/08   32.   #25 serenity and bad info on crude prices 17:06  |  victor hardman 17/08/08   33.   Cold War Between US and Russia 17:40  |  ARTH 17/08/08   34.   #29 PETER SM 17:44  |  Mark B. 17/08/08   35.   ivar produces dna from 3000 years back 17:47  |  victor hardman 17/08/08   36.   American 18:56  |  New Regional Order 17/08/08   37.   Seven long years have achieved the goal 19:13  |  Mark Lincoln 17/08/08   38.   anna 19:49  |  uliveto.alina@gmail. 17/08/08   39.   BIRTH OF THE NWO - THE UMMA 19:51  |  JOHN ISH ISHMAEL 17/08/08   40.   #20 Akram Zekaria. Jersualem predates the Israelites 20:15  |  Nick Ferriman 17/08/08   41.   A new regional order 20:35  |  American 17/08/08   42.   BIRTH OF THE NWO - THE UMMAH 20:36  |  JOHN ISH ISHMAEL 17/08/08   43.   Nick Ferriman has a bridge to sell you 00:24  |  Morris Valentine 18/08/08   44.   luc # 5 is correct 00:37  |  Aaron 18/08/08   45.   Luc a Paris and Aaron in Rio, I doubt that 02:25  |  Mark B. 18/08/08   46.   saudi arabia and egypt disgrace to their people 03:27  |  independent observer 18/08/08   47.   Nick #40, your propaganda is showing 03:49  |  DavidAK 18/08/08   48.   Mark Lincoln-#37-You twist everything to fit your stereotypes 04:58  |  Daniel Leopold 18/08/08   49.   Well, if you keep ignoring them then they become irrelevent. 05:32  |  Johnboy 18/08/08   50.   Then who is in control 06:07  |  Shimon Cleopas 18/08/08   51.   Johnboy-#49-Saudi and Egypt irrelevance 06:10  |  Daniel Leopold 18/08/08   52.   saudi arabia and the pharoe mubarak 06:28  |  george 18/08/08   53.   haaretz a beacon of lite 06:32  |  independent observer 18/08/08   54.   to daniel in sydney 06:35  |  michel 18/08/08   55.   to natalie durson voice of reason 06:42  |  independent observer 18/08/08   56.   Johnboy-#49-Can anyone take the Saudis seriously? 06:44  |  Daniel Leopold 18/08/08   57.   michel-#54-Saudi and Egyptian support 07:04  |  Daniel Leopold 18/08/08   58.   model states 08:23  |  isiaiah 18/08/08   59.   Influence eroded but why? 08:24  |  Dr. Makni 18/08/08   60.   23# serenity there is no sincerity in your post. 16:09  |  Akram Zekaria 18/08/08   61.   40# Nick Ferriman Your arguments dosen`t wash. 16:42  |  Akram Zekaria 18/08/08   62.   37# Mark Lincoln "Seven years of War.." 17:06  |  Akram Zekaria 18/08/08   63.   regional order 06:00  |  Rob 20/08/08

Read & React Olmert: No restraint if Lebanon becomes Hezbollah state Responses: 54 Mike Huckabee: A divided Jerusalem is 'unimaginable' Responses: 167 Top Russian general: Israel armed, trained Georgia forces Responses: 66 Yoel Marcus: Israel can no longer rely on U.S. to stand by it come what may Responses: 50 More Headlines 03:02 Russia weighs increasing military aid to Arab world 00:14 Ex-Mossad chief: Ahmadinejad is Israel's greatest gift 03:21 Gaza militants train women suicide bombers in case of renewed violence 06:33 Indian gov't okays over $1.5 billion in arms deals with Israel 03:06 Who will represent Israel at the opening of the UN General Assembly? 03:35 'Nobody wants to see someone sinning in his neighborhood' 23:35 Obama appoints Jewish outreach coordinator 06:36 As defense chief, Mofaz failed to declare brother's arms business 18:12 Top Russian general: Israel armed, trained Georgia forces 23:55 Barak orders Gaza crossings closed after Qassam hits Negev 05:10 Veteran Averbukh makes one last go 05:27 C'est incroyable! Israelis gripe about French manners 04:27 US Airways applies to open direct Philadelphia-Tel Aviv line 20:19 Hamas, Fatah delegations head to Cairo for reconciliation talks 06:27 Talansky lawyers seeking Israel testimony without U.S. repercussions Previous Editions Select Day 19 aug 18 aug 17 aug 15 aug 14 aug 13 aug 12 aug 11 aug 10 aug 08 aug 07 aug 06 aug

Special Offers Advertisement Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. Jewish Singles Personal Ads Find the love of your life on JDate.com MBA in Israel in English APPLY NOW! Limited spaces available Israel's Premier Real Estate Website www. israel-property.com Your vacation starts here Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates Hebrew Summer courses From $39.95 ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel | Search engine marketing

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved