US Secretary of State makes farewell tour of the Middle East

Just a year after the United States sponsored a Middle East Peace Conference at Annapolis, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is off to the region next week to meet with various parties in order to encourage them to press ahead.

Last year, America urged the parties to conclude a peace deal by the end of President Bush’s term of office but that doesn’t look likely now. Arabs and Israelis both agree on at least one thing and it is that the American timelines will not be met.

Rice will start her tour the day after America elects a new President. The election will undoubtedly impact on the parties’ views of what will be possible in the weeks and months ahead.

But the American election is not the only one at issue. Ms. Livni’s failure to put together a coalition means Israel will go to fresh elections in February. And Palestinians are also divided over who is in charge and some are calling for fresh elections. The Israeli elections alone should delay any peace negotiations until well into the spring of 2009.

Secretary Rice will visit Egypt, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories during her four-day tour. After soliciting views from Fatah Palestinians, various Israelis and Jordan’s King, Rice will huddle with representatives of the Middle East Quartet at Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh resort on the 9th of November. The Quartet, composed of the EU, US, UN and Russia, are unlikely to be able to offer much encouragement.

Meanwhile, Hamas and Fatah are scheduled to start reconciliation discussions in Cairo on the same day Rice meets on the Red Sea with the Quartet. These intra-Palestinian talks are very important. Hamas currently controls Gaza while Fatah has broader sway on the West Bank. Before Palestinians can hope to succeed in talks with the Israelis, they must have a clear idea of who is in charge and what they want.

The same applies to the Israelis. Political leadership in Israel is passing to a younger generation but lately they seem equally incapable of deciding who is in charge of their political future.

There will be no progress towards Peace until the two sides have determined who will speak for them and what they will say. America must do the same before it can help.

Pirates and Marines

A new class of American amphibious ship recently made its first transit through the Suez Canal. The USS San Antonio, part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group, transited the Suez on the 23rd of September and headed down the Red Sea towards the area where Somali pirates have seized more than a score of merchant ships this year.

Currently, US Fifth Fleet ships, including the USS Howard, are watching a pirate-seized merchant ship, the MV Faina. The Belize-flagged cargo ship is owned and operated by Kaalbye Shipping Ukraine and is carrying a cargo of 33 Ukrainian T-72 tanks and related equipment. The ship was attacked on Sept. 25 and forced to proceed to an anchorage off the Somali Coast. The pirates are demanding a $20 million ransom to release the ship and crew. There are some reports that demand has been reduced recently to $8 million. As many as 50 pirates are on board the MV Faina holding its crew hostage. One Russian crew member has died while in pirate control.

There maybe scores of pirates but there are about 1,900 US Marines abroad the USS Iwo Jima and several hundred more embarked on the USS San Antonio and they can be quickly transported by about two dozen helicopters.

The embarked Marines are the 2,200 man 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit has had combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan and its men are highly experienced.

The USS San Antonio (LPD 17) is a new class of amphibious transport dock ship. It carries four helicopters and a variety of tactical vehicles in its hull. It can also transport up to 800 Marines.

“As we enter the Fifth Fleet area of operations, we will conduct Maritime Security Operations, maritime infrastructure protection and will work to deter destabilizing activities in order to help create a lawful maritime order,” said Cmdr. Kurt Kastner, San Antonio’s commanding officer.

One of the challenges of the Suez transit was the narrow passage San Antonio had to navigate. “The path through the Suez is only 119 meters wide with water as deep as 14.8 meters,” said Lt. j. g. Kathleen Friel, San Antonio’s navigator. “Therefore, the turns made by the helmsman need to be precise when adjusting course.”

San Antonio is deployed as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group supporting maritime security operations (MSO) in the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet area of operations. MSO help develop security in the maritime environment. From security arises stability that results in global economic prosperity. MSO complements the counterterrorism and security efforts of regional nations and seek to disrupt violent extremists' use of the maritime environment as a venue for attack or to transport personnel, weapons or other material.

Also in the Iwo Jima group are the guided-missile destroyer USS Ramage (DDG 61), the amphibious transport dock ship USS Carter Hall (LSD 50) and the guided-missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG 80) seen here transiting through the Suez Canal.

Since the MV Faina was seized, six other ships have also been seized or attacked by Somali pirates. The international community is frustrated at the expense and danger to cargos transiting this important shipping corridor. The US is also concerned that the tanks and other weapons and ammunition not fall into the hands of the Islamists who are fighting the Somali central government. These groups reportedly are getting a cut of the pirate ransoms which they use to finance their rebellion. Last week the Somali government authorized foreign powers to take action against pirates inside Somali territorial waters if such actions were coordinated with them.

Anyone familiar with the USMC hymn knows that the Marines have a long history of fighting pirates on African shores. I suspect the 26th MEU is planning to add a new chapter to that history.

Photos courtesy the US Navy.