| The end of the Arab Cold War? | ||
| By Alaa Bayoumi
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Barack Obama, the US president, is attempting to seal an Arab-Israeli peace deal that has eluded the region for more than six decades. Ahead of an initiative expected to be announced in September, Al Jazeera is examining the prospects for peace in a week-long series from Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and Jordan. Al Jazeera's Alaa Bayoumi looks at intra-Arab disputes and domestic issues which could prove to be obstacles to lasting stability in the region. There is cautious optimism in the Middle East that recent developments, such as the post-election protests in Iran and inter-Arab reconciliation efforts backed by Washington's willingness to engage with Tehran and Damascus, may usher a "new political era". Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle Eastern politics at the London School of Economics and author of several books on Middle East politics, believes confrontational politics which dominated the past eight years may be coming to an end.
He said: "[The Middle East] is at the beginning of a new phase that represents a radical departure from the Middle East under the policies of the Bush administration and the policies of the neo-conservatives in Washington." Gerges believes that US-Arab relations are on the threshold of a new era based on negotiations and............. |