The Middle East -when are we going to stop talking about it, probably never- is not only the land of the three divine religions, it is not only the land of oil and source of energy and life in the world now but also the land of water. As God, who sent the three prophets of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, with the three interconnected messages in that part of the world knew that his sons are naughty and that his sons are not in-line so he created all these things for all of them to share. It is the destiny of the Arab countries including the upcoming and new state of Palestine in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and the State of Israel to continue to live in an internal state of negotiations and cooperation. The three divine religions were born there and that is it. All stop and start there. No way to run from it and no way, for any party to ignore the other, it is just not possible. In the same time, the cousins and the brothers cannot fight and if they fight, they will not win and if they win, then they will fight again. So why not take the short cut, the wise cut and set together. I love setting around, you can learn from me. Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt have water issues, and have challenges that they have to meet soon to ensure a normal flow of supplies and to ensure taking advantage of the water resources that exist in these countries and around including Turkey to both Syria and Iraq; it is amazing if they just share, no one will ever be thirsty again, no drought, nothing, just prosperity for all. We teach our kids to share from the start, we teach them to play together and though protecting their own things, they can still have other kids enjoy playing. The Dead Sea between Jordan and Israel is actually dying if not already started the process, other rivers, Elyarmouk, Ellitani, ElAsi, and then you have in Iraq the Euphrates, in Egypt the Nile. Now, I am practical, I am not a dreamer; maybe this is bad, but anyway, I see channels branching out and running from rivers between Israel, Jordan- oh, I forgot the Jordan River, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. I see those countries setting together, on the experts’ level, I do not want to see politicians ruining everything- at least not in the start, they can screw up later as they usually do, and just talk scientifically and fairly on how we can create win- win situations that will benefit all. Now, you have to talk, there is no other way. Egypt- read further on how it is more involved- is another story, as it does not deal for water directly with any other country in the Middle East, except for Sudan that it shares the Nile River. The river Nile comes from Uganda and through Ethiopia to Sudan and Egypt. There are agreements that give Egypt its share as it is with Sudan the best and the most important clients of the river. The African countries involved are looking to establish their own Dams on the river to benefit. Now, the approach should be not to accuse, and charge the emotions but talk sensibly, though not easy in the Middle East, where the word hypocrisy was created and invented. As for the Nile and the looming conflict looking between Egypt, Sudan and other countries that the Nile runs through, as I mentioned above, let the countries meet on the technical level and talk with an open mind. Egypt is a pioneer in negotiations and Egypt is the pioneer with Israel about much bigger issue, which is the Arab Israeli peace process. Egypt as well can share the Nile to supply Israel, Palestine, Jordan and even parts of Saudi Arabia with fresh water. Now, of course, I am talking general here but it is for the technical experts to make things happen and it could happen based on various analyses. Water as many experts believe might the next big one in the Middle East, and you as a country cannot be stubborn or talk about certain privileges or state things from just a very narrow angle, you must take into account the evolving needs of the other concerned countries and see how you can get a win-win situation, it is not difficult. The negotiations with the State of Israel, the new State of Palestine and countries such as Jordan and Syria will be over water resources as well. The water is there, the technical expertise is there, the talents are there, all you need to do is set and talk, period. Read related articles about the business peace of the Middle East and the art that I wish I were clever at, Negotiations.
Read my pieces on negotiations and the business peace of the Middle East:
http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2005/10/business-peace-of-middle-east.html
http://arabamericanwire.blogspot.com/2010/02/negotiationsby-jamil-shawwa.html
Maps: Source: MidEastWeb and WikipediA
Map below in green for Lake Victoria, the main or one of two sources for the Nile River
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