The Shifting Realities of The Middle East ...

Feb. 8, 2007 22:33 Updated Feb. 9, 2007 15:29

The Meaning of Mecca
By DAVID KIMCHE

'You people are talking about yesterday's Middle East, not about the new realities of today and tomorrow," my friend, a respected Jordanian politician, told me when I visited Amman earlier this week. "Your failure in Lebanon last July was a wake-up call not only for you, but for all of us moderate Arabs."

He gave the example of Saudi Arabia, which has become a key player in our region. "Could anyone have dreamt not so long ago that the Saudis would be doing what is happening today in Mecca with the Palestinians?" He went on to answer his own question.

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