Syria announced last week the existence of back-channel peace negotiations with Israel.

With the “war on terror” entering its seventh year, the Bush administration is brokering dozens of foreign weapons deals in order to combat terrorism by re-arming Iraq and Afghanistan, containing North Korea and Iran, and cementing ties with onetime Russian allies. 

The Iraqi Sunni insurgent groups recently allied with, and paid by, the Americans officially came under command of the Shi’a controlled Baghdad government on Wednesday.  The American peace deal with the Sunni insurgent groups is seen as the single most vital factor in the de-escalation of violence in Iraq. 

On Monday, Israel’s Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, won the leadership race of the Kadima Party, the ruling party in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, following the resignation of the former leader ex-PM Ehud Olmert. 

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is being investigated for bribery and tax evasion. His popularity has plummeted, and he may be indicted within the month in which case he has pledged to resign.

An intra-Shiite power struggle is underway as cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attempts to maintain control over his militia (the Jaysh al-Mahdi, JAM) and transform it into a legitimate political movement.

Despite its accusations of “genocide” in Darfur and an outbreak of violence in oil-rich Abyei, the US is negotiating with Sudan to normalize diplomatic relations. 

As American presidential campaigning intensifies, we are seeing a convergence between the candidates and the Bush administration on the issues of Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.