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Water will be more important than oil. That's the view of many experts on the Middle East. The creative use of water could well be a way to see peace flow in that strife-torn land.
What happens in the Middle East touches all our lives and it remains one of the most dangerous flash points on the planet. People suffer and die on all sides of the long, bitter conflict. The volatile struggles in the Middle East always drive up the price of gas. So what can we do?
Land for peace is the mantra we usually hear. Give the Palestinians a homeland carved out of the West Bank and Gaza, assure Israeli security and pray somebody can come up with a way to settle the issue of Jerusalem and a little hilltop the Muslims call Haram as-Sharaf and Jews know as the Temple Mount. How to govern this tiny piece of sacred land is, for now, the main obstacle to peace. The Pope's pleas to internationalize Jerusalem are as reasonable as they are unheeded. Maybe we should get away from land for a while and try another approach.
How about water for peace? Water is becoming increasingly scarce in the Middle East and a source of great distrust among the nations needed to forge a lasting peace. Find a way to bring water to the Middle East and not only will the prospects of peace improve, but the means for economic development will grow dramatically.
Turkey has water, plenty of it, and Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and even Egypt could use it.
Turkey's resources and its unusual stance in the region offer some largely untapped opportunities.
First, a little history. The year was 1492. The Spanish were doing a lot more than funding Christopher Columbus's voyage of discovery. That very same year King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella concluded one of the dumbest ventures ever undertaken. Spain committed cultural suicide and expelled 200,000 Jews. Spain's stupidity proved to be Turkey's good fortune. The Ottoman Sultan Bezyet II welcomed the Jews to Turkey, offering them a new home on the other side of the Mediterranean. Thus began a long history of cordial relations Ð Muslims and Jews living and working together in a part of the world where religious hatred has fueled generations of bloodshed.
Today the Turks already are working to sell water from their southern rivers to Israel. Turkey also is building water purification plants and looking at other rivers as sources of what's dubbed "The Peace Water Project." The plan is to transport the water with huge tankers. Water-rich Turkey already delivers water to northern Cyprus and is working on water deals with Malta and Crete.
This makes sense, but I'd go a step farther and find a less expensive, permanent way to get water where it can do good for a lasting peace.
Build a massive pipeline from the rivers of Turkey to the deserts of the Middle East and provide a reliable supply of water, which will obviate one of the most contentious issues in the region. Imagine Israel flowing with milk, honey and precious water. Imagine a new state of Palestine where water could be used to build industries and commerce, and provide the jobs those suffering people need so desperately. Imagine the Syrians blessed with water, ending isolation and entering a post-Hafiz el-Assad era of cooperation. Assad's son, Dr. Bashar Assad, Syria's new president and a physician, surely knows how health in his nation would improve with a steady source of clean, safe water.
Sure it's idealistic, but I'd rather spend billions of dollars on water development than squander the billions the United States already spends on weapons for Israel, Egypt and our own military in the Middle East.
So what's in it for Turkey? A lot. Money, obviously. Everybody knows you have to pay for water. I propose an international commission to finance, build and operate the pipeline. American, European and Middle Eastern money could be tapped for the pipeline and other water treatment and distribution facilities needed in Turkey and all the way to Egypt through Gaza. Some revenue from water sales would pay off the capital costs for the pipeline over time, but the Turks, as they should, get the rest of the water dough.
Turkey is struggling in the transition from a Third World economy to one of growth and integration with the West. More than a quarter-century ago, the Turks missed a great bet. They were offered full membership in the European Community and said no. The Byzantine thinking the Turkish powers would usually employ was shunned at that time for a move that was spiteful and stupid. Their reasoning was, if our arch-enemies, the Greeks, are signing up for the E.U., we're staying out. Well, the Greeks are doing fine economically and political ties with the West help preserve democracy in its birthplace and keep the neo-fascists in line.
The Turks now are whistling a different tune and they've applied for membership in the European Union. Turkey would become the first Muslim nation to be admitted. Some Turks complain anti-Muslim sentiment in Western Europe has stalled Turkey's admittance, and there is probably some truth in that.
So here's the deal. The British, French, Germans and Italians are far more dependent on Middle Eastern oil than we are, and when hot wars break out there Western Europe quickly feels the heat of terrorism. Those same nations dominate the European Union and hold the keys to Turkey's admission. The Europeans promise to embrace Turkey and accelerate its acceptance into the Union in exchange for Turkey's commitment to the pipeline.
Sure, such a deal would require all kinds of negotiations and treaties, and would pose diplomatic as well as engineering headaches. But it's high time we start looking for creative solutions and spend our resources and energies to build something that could benefit generations.
People in Niagara Falls, of all places, know the importance and power of water. Let's share our wisdom.