2007 in Review

Since today is New Year's Eve this post will be looking through this past year's biggest worldwide news and giving readers a heads up on what to watch out for this upcoming year in the news. Enjoy.

Headlines of 2007:
The Annapolis Peace Conference is held in Maryland
Beneazir Bhutto is killed
Bird Flu is found in England,Pakistan, Afghanistan, Japan, Egypt, and other countries too
Foot and Mouth has small outbreak in England
Ebola has first signs of an epidemic in Uganda
VP Dick Chaney has many heart problems
PM Tony Blair leaves office
John Bolton leaves UN
Russia claims North Pole for oil
Russia begins flying planes near US and UK
Iran begins uranium enrichment program
Iran's President speaks at Columbia University
Al Gore wins Nobel Peace Prize
France elects PM Sarkozy
The US Presidential race begins heating up
There were many other headlines in 2007 as well

Everyone keep your eye on Pakistan and the entire Middle East as well. There are many things happening all over the world, so keep watching. Don't take your eyes off of Russia, China, and Iran there are many things that could happen to them in the upcoming year. Of course the presidential elections are coming upon us as well. Don't forget about our boarder problem with Mexico. Everyone also keep your eye on Venezuela too. The world is changing all of the time and so is the news, so keep watching. Remember that we just need to keep looking up!
Sign Ups for The Advanced Bible Institute begin Wednesday- so sign up!

The Day After Christimas

Luke 2

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

The day after Christmas sure stirs up a lot of memories. All of the prechristmas activities seem so to be so distant. The gifts have all been exchanged leaving a mountain of trash. The kitchen is full of left over food. The sounds of excitement and laughter have been replaced with a awkward silence.

News & Views

Today has been a busy worldwide news day!

1. WHO sounds another alarm for the world to be on the alert for Bird Flu. Since 2003 over 200 people have died with the most living in Asia. But, new cases have been reported as the virus has moved towards the West. Bird Flu has the potential of causing millions of deaths worldwide.
2. The experts are calling for a major earthquake in the Holy Land. The predictions are being made based on a 80 year cycle with the last being in 1927.
3. Russia has delivered a shipment of nuclear fuel to the Iran. Of course. the Iranians have said that it will be used for peaceful purposes, but they have also called for the destruction of Israel.
4. Northeast and Midwest experiencing major ice and snow storms. One news source compared these storm to a icy Katrina with all of the power outages. One needs to note the relationship of these storms to the pressure the US is placing on Israel to sacrifice land for the hope for peace.

This would be a beautiful day to fly. Lets keep looking up, because the Rapture could be sooner than we think. Praise the Lord!

Are you Rapture Ready?

Outline of the End Times

Hi there everyone this is Lindsay posting for Pastor today. He will be back to posting as usual very soon, but he has had a very busy week! He has been preaching a revival at a local church since Monday, so he has been very busy. Below is an outline he will be using at the revival.

End Time Events
John 14
1 - Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 - In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 - And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4 - And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

I. Insula (Addition on Father's house) - "I go to prepare a place for you"

II. Bridegroom Cometh – No one knows when – Matthew 24:36

III. Rapture of Church which is the Bride of Christ

• “Caught up” - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
• “We shall all be changed” – 1 Cor. 15:51-58
• “Come up” – Revelation 4:1-3

IV. Great Tribulation Begins

• “Confirm the covenant” – Daniel 9:27

IVa. 21 Judgments Begin – Revelation 6

• 7 Seal Judgments – Rev. 6:1-8:1
• 7 Trumpets Judgments – Rev. 8:2-15:8
• 7 Vial Judgments – Rev. 16:1-21

IVb. Believers appear Judgment Seat of Christ

• “We shall all stand” – Rom. 14:10
• “For we must all appear” – 2 Cor. 5:10

IVc. Marriage Supper of Lamb – Revelation 19:7-10

• Bride (Church) made ready – verse7
• Robed in white – verse 8a
• Righteousness of Saints – verse 8b
• Marriage of Lamb – verse 9

V. Second Coming of Christ to the Earth – Revelation 19:11-16

• Riding a White Horse – Revelation 19:11
• Every eye shall see him – Revelation 1:7

VI. Millennium Reign of Christ (1,000 years) – Rev. 20

VII. The Great White Throne of Judgment (Unbelievers) – Rev. 20: 11-15

• Book of Deeds
• Book of Life

VIII. All Things New – Revelations 21:1-7

• New Heaven
• New Earth
• New Jerusalem

Be sure to check The Advanced Bible Institute's website abiclass.com there is a photos page of some of the people in class, the is a new class materials page, and much more too. I know many people are missing Pastor Young's great posts, as am I, but he will post some new material beginning next week so check back soon. Until then have a great week.

Key Signs of His Coming

Key Signs of His Coming

Matthew 24

1 - And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple.

Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple70 AD

2 - And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Sign of Thy Coming

3 - And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

Time of Deception

4 - And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 - For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Wars and Rumors of Wars

6 - And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

Ethnic Cleansing and Mega Disasters

7 - For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Birth Pains

8 - All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Persecution

9 - Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10 - And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

This Rise of False Prophets

11 - And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Hard Hearted
12 - And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Preaching of the Cross

13 - But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Gospel Preached to ALL the World

14 - And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

The preceding text identifies signs that will precede the Coming of our Lord.

• Deception (Global Warming)
• Wars (Ethnic Cleansing)
• Mega Disasters (Famines, Pandemics, Earthquakes, Storms, Etc.)
• Beginning of Birth Pains (Start, grow more frequent and severe)
• Persecution: (Believers will be betrayed)
• False Prophets
• Gospel Preached to All of the World (Satellite TV and the Internet)

Is Annapolis Connected to Daniel 9:27a

Daniel 9

27 - And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Annapolis Middle East Peace Conference participates reads like a who's who of world powers.

US State Department
Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC

November 26, 2007
Annapolis Conference Participants
The following is a list of the heads of delegation as provided to us by the countries and organizations participating in the Annapolis Conference:

Israel: Prime Minister - Ehud Olmert
Palestinian Authority: President - Mahmud Abbas

Quartet:
United States: President - George W. Bush
EU Commission: Benita Ferrero-Waldner
EU High Rep: Sec. General of the Council of the EU - Javier Solana
EU President (Portugal): Minister of State and of Foreign Affairs - Luis Amado
Russia: Minister for Foreign Affairs - Sergey V. Lavrov
UNSYG: Secretary General - Ban Ki-moon
Quartet Representative: Middle East Envoy - Tony Blair

Arab League Follow-up Committee:
Algeria: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs - Mourad Medelci
Bahrain: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa
Egypt: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Ahmed Aboul Gheit
Jordan: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Salaheddin Al-Bashir
Lebanon: Minister of Culture - Tarek Mitri
Morocco: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation - Taieb Fassi Fihri
Qatar: Min. of State for Foreign Affairs - Ahmed bin Abdulla Al-Mahmoud
Saudi Arabia: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Saud Al-Faisal
Sudan: Ambassador - John Ukec
Syria: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs - Fayssal Mekdad
Tunisia: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Abdelwahab Abdallah
Yemen: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Abu Bakr al-Qirbi
Arab League SYG: Secretary General - Amre Moussa

G-8 - P-5
Canada: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Maxime Bernier
China: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Yang Jiechi
France: Minister of Foreign & European Affairs - Bernard Kouchner
Germany: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Italy: Vice President of the Council - Massimo D'Alema
Japan: Special Envoy for the Middle East - Tatsuo Arima
United Kingdom: Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs - David Miliband

Others
Austria: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Ursula Plassnik
Brazil: Minister of State for External Relations - Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim
Denmark: Minister for Foreign Affairs - Per Stig Moeller
Greece: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Dora Bakoyannis
India: Minister of Science & Technology & Earth Sciences - Shri Kapil Sibal
Indonesia: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Noer Hassan Wirajuda
Malaysia: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Syed Hamid bin Syed Jaafar Albar
Mauritania: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Mohamed Saleck Ould Mohamed Lemine
Mexico: Under Secretary - Lourdes Aranda
Netherlands: Minister for European Affairs - Frans Timmermans
Norway: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Jonas Gahr Store

OIC: Secretary General -Ekemelddin Ihsanoglu
Oman: Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs - Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdulla
Pakistan: Foreign Secretary - Riaz Mohammad Khan
Poland: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Radoslaw Sikorski
Senegal: Senior Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs - Cheikh Tidiane Gadio
Slovenia: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Dimitrij Rupel
South Africa: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma
Spain: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Miguel Angel Moratinos
Sweden: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Carl Bildt
Turkey: Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chief EU Negotiator - Ali Babacan
United Arab Emirates: Minister of Foreign Affairs - Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahayan
Vatican (Holy See): Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs - Pietro Parolin

Observers
IMF: Managing Director - Dominique Strauss-Kahn
World Bank: President - Robert Zoellick

This looks worldwide to me! We should know in the near future if this treaty has the potential of bring peace to Israel. We must remember that Daniel 9:27a refers to Antichrist confirming a peace with Israel that starts the clock for the seven years of the Tribulation.

I fervently believe that the Rapture will precede the confirming of this covenant. Praise the Lord we could fly real soon!

What is driving Prime Minister Olmert to be willing to consider giving up key real estate in the Holy Land?

• The Golan is key to keeping the Galilee free from receiving rocket fire from the heights east of the Sea of Galilee.
• The West Bank is Biblical Judea with Bethlehem being the birth place of King David.
• Jerusalem is the site of the Temple Mount.

Each concession that Israel has recently made to the Palestinians has resulted in disastrous results:

1. The Oslo Peace which allow Arafat to move his base of operation into the West Bank and Gaza.
2. The pull out of Lebanon has not led to peace.
3. The withdrawal from Gaza has led to riots and the take over of Gaza by Hamas.

One can only imagine what lies ahead for Israel!

Insightful News

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Feds don't explain separating Jerusalem, Israel'I don't know why it would be listed that way. I don't put out the directory'
Posted: November 27, 20071:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Jerusalem

A new U.S. government listing of State Department contacts around the world that separates Jerusalem from Israel apparently is going to be unexplained.

The document, the United States Department of State Telephone Directory (unclassified), was finished just days ago, as a U.S. promotion of a political division of Jerusalem to accommodate demands from the Palestinian Authority developed.

The split of the Israeli capital is one of the issues on the table at the Annapolis Middle East peace summit beginning today, and the PA wants to base the capital of a future Palestinian Arab state in Jerusalem. There also have been calls for Jerusalem to be made an international city.

Multiple WND calls to the State Department seeking an explanation went unreturned. But an operator finally connected WND with a State Department press office employee, who said the action was "not political."

"I don't know why it would be listed separately. I don't put out the directory," he told WND. He declined further comment and disconnected the call.

While the directory, dated Nov. 20, 2007, lists the consulates for various cities in nations under that nation listing, such as listing Baghdad, Basrah and others under Iraq, there are separate listings for Israel (Tel Aviv) and Jerusalem.

WND has obtained a draft Israeli-Palestinian declaration to be presented at the Annapolis conference and to serve as an official outline of a final settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian leaders have asked the U.S. to support a demand that the Palestinian Authority be allowed to open official representative institutions in eastern sections of Jerusalem, including a sanctioned headquarters in Israel's capital, WND has learned.

Political sources in Jerusalem said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is studying the request. The opening of PA offices in Jerusalem would serve as a major statement that the city would become the capital of a future Palestinian state, said senior Palestinian negotiators speaking to WND.

In line with previous Israeli-Palestinian accords, the PA until now has been barred from conducting political activity in Jerusalem, although it maintained an office, called Orient House, in an eastern Jerusalem neighborhood that previously functioned as a de facto PA headquarters.

Orient House was closed down by Israel in 2001 following a series of suicide bombings in Jerusalem and information Israel said indicated it was used to plan and fund terrorism. Thousands of documents and copies of bank certificates and checks captured by Israel from Orient House – including many documents obtained by WND – showed the offices were used to finance terrorism, including direct payments to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group.

Palestinian officials speaking to WND said they are urging the U.S. to support what they said is a key demand allowing the PA to open official institutions and to reopen Orient House to serve as their headquarters.

The PA already hired a new director for Orient House, Adnan Husseini, the former director-general of the Waqf, or Islamic custodians of the Temple Mount, said the Palestinian officials. Husseini's cousin, Faisal Husseini used to run Orient House and served as the PA's main representative in Jerusalem until his death in 2001.

"The U.S. has completely backed us on our legitimate requests that Israel halt all settlement expansion and dismantle illegal outposts," said a senior Palestinian negotiator speaking on condition of anonymity. "We are urging the Americans to now back us in our request to open institutions in Jerusalem."

Olmert told the Knesset Israel would not establish any new Jewish communities in the West Bank and will begin to dismantle what are termed existing illegal outposts, or Jewish structures built without government permits.

At the Annapolis summit, Olmert is widely expected to outline a Palestinian state in most of the West Bank, which borders Jerusalem and is within rocket range of Tel Aviv and Israel's international airport. Hamas leaders, including the group's chief in Gaza, repeatedly have vowed to take over the West Bank if Israel withdraws from the strategic territory. Hamas in June seized the Gaza Strip, overrunning all U.S.-backed compounds of Abbas' Fatah organization.

There have been reports – denied by Olmert – the prime minister will also seek to hand over eastern sections of Jerusalem to Abbas.

Last month, Olmert hinted he would be willing to divide Jerusalem, asking during a speech whether it was "really necessary" to retain certain Arab neighborhoods in Judaism's capital.

Vice Premier Haim Ramon, a member of Olmert's ruling Kadima party, last month reportedly mapped out a future partition of Jerusalem under a deal with the Palestinians.

Ramon wrote in a letter to Jerusalem City Councilman Nir Barkat, according to the Israeli newssite YnetNews.com, that under his plan, "The Jewish neighborhoods (of Jerusalem) will be recognized as Israeli and under Israeli sovereignty. Accordingly, the Arab neighborhoods will be recognized as Palestinian."

Monday, November 26, 2007
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU

Palestinian state by '08, says BushTells PA president in private meeting U.S. committed to Israeli withdrawal
Posted: November 26, 20075:00 p.m. Eastern
By Aaron Klein
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

The U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., is the site of the Middle East peace summit this week.

JERUSALEM – President Bush told Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during a private meeting today the U.S. will ensure the Palestinians will have a state on the ground before Bush leaves office, a senior Palestinian negotiator told WND.

"Bush and the U.S. administration gave us a commitment there will be a Palestinian state before he leaves office, and not just an outline of a state on paper but contiguous territory on the ground," said the Palestinian negotiator, who spoke on condition his name be withheld because he was revealing the contents of a private meeting.

"Bush said he is committed to seeing an Israeli withdrawal from most of the West Bank," the negotiator said.

Bush met separately today with Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ahead of tomorrow's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit at which the Israeli and Palestinian teams are slated to present a joint declaration widely expected to outline a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and eastern sections of Jerusalem.

After holding private meetings with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, Bush told reporters at a press conference he was "optimistic" tomorrow's summit would be successful.

"We want to help [Abbas]. We want there to be peace. We want the people in the Palestinian territories to have hope," said Bush after his meeting with the Palestinian leader.

Abbas later told a news conference he has "a great deal of hope that this conference will produce permanent status negotiations, expanded negotiations, over all permanent status issues that would lead to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian people."

"This is a great initiative and we need [Bush's] continuing effort to achieve this objective," said Abbas.

In what has been described by some media outlets as a diplomatic coup for Bush, the governments of Syria, Saudi Arabia and dozens of other Arab states are sending senior representatives to tomorrow's summit.

WND reported yesterday that according to top diplomatic sources in Jerusalem, in exchange for Saudi Arabia attending the Annapolis conference, the Israeli government agreed to recognize the importance of a Saudi-sponsored "peace initiative" in which the Jewish state is called upon to evacuate the strategic Golan Heights, the entire West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem, including the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.

While Israel doesn't commit itself to the Saudi-backed Arab Peace Initiative's requirements, a clause in the current draft of the Israeli-Palestinian declaration slated for the Annapolis conference and obtained by WND reads: "We recognize the critical supporting role of Arab and Muslim states and the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative."

As well, Syria reportedly agreed to attend Annapolis after Damascus received American and Israeli commitments the Golan Heights would be put on the table at the Israeli-Palestinian conference.

The Golan Heights is strategic mountainous territory that looks down on Israeli population centers and twice was used by Syria to launch ground invasions into the Jewish state.

While Israel is not expected to commit itself to evacuating the Golan Heights at Annapolis, the mere mentioning of the strategic territory at the international summit could serve to put the issue back on the bargaining table.

Syria is in a military alliance with Iran and is accused by the U.S. of supporting the insurgency in Iraq and generating instability in Lebanon. Israel says Syria regularly ships Iranian rockets and weaponry to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. The chiefs of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad Palestinian terror groups are based in Damascus. Syria is also accused by Israel of holding Israeli soldiers missing in action, including Brooklyn-born Zachary Baumel, who was captured by Syrian forces 23 years ago.

Syria was invited to the summit without any preconditions or pledges to cease its purported backing of terrorism or its alleged meddling in Lebanese affairs.
To interview Aaron Klein, contact Tim Bueler Public Relations by e-mail, or call (530) 401-3285.

Rabbi: Cleanse country of Arabs

Prominent right-wing rabbis gather for 'emergency meeting' ahead of Annapolis conference, state no peace can be achieved if Arabs stay on Israel's land Kobi Nahshoni "We must cleanse the country of Arabs and resettle them in the countries where they came from," head of the Yesha Rabbis Council, Rabbi Dov Lior, declared Monday, adding that, "If this means we have to pay them, we will. Without doing so, we will never enjoy peace in our land."

Lior made the statement during an "emergency meeting" of the Association of Rabbis for the People of Israel and the Land of Israel held in Jerusalem ahead of the Annapolis peace conference.

"You have no cause for concern, no peace will come out of all these conferences and agreements," Lior told the participants. The rabbi stated that although he was interested in peace, Israel could never hope to achieve peaceful relations "with evil people of this kind."

MK Uri Ariel (National Union), who also attended the meeting, said that the prime minister aimed to convince the public that Judea and Samaria should be given to the Palestinians. Ariel also called on the attendees not to waste their time on trying to change the minds of MKs and ministers. "This is a struggle of good versus evil," he exclaimed.

'No leader has the right to give away land'

Rabbi Zalman Melamed stated that assisting or participating in the handing over of parts of Eretz Israel to non-Jews was strictly prohibited. "We must declare clearly that we will not do anything that is against our holy Torah. We shall fight all those who attempt to violate the Torah's mitzvot."

At the conclusion of the meeting, the association's secretary, Rabbi Yosef Artziel, read out the decisions agreed upon in the gathering: "No leader, in any generation, has the right to give away Eretz Israel… we call on the Jews abroad, and especially on community leaders and rabbis, to join us in our efforts against this treaty and its implications.

"Together, we will save the people of Israel from the government's terrible plan."

www.gamla.org
Inviting A Bull Into The China Shop

Barry Rubin, JPOST.com
November 27, 2007 ::: 17 Kislev 5768

What would you do if your foreign policy agenda had these priorities:

• get Arab and European support for solving the Iraq crisis;
• mobilize Arab and European forces against a threat led by Iran and its allies Syria, Hamas, and Hizbullah;
• get Iran to stop its campaign to acquire nuclear weapons;
• reestablish American credibility toward friends and deterrence toward enemies; reduce the level of Israel-Palestinian conflict.

That pretty much describes the US framework for dealing with the Middle East nowadays.

The Annapolis conference is not going to contribute to these goals. Its most likely outcome is either failure, or a non-event portrayed as a victory because it took place at all.

No one is going to say, We are so grateful at the US becoming more active on Arab-Israeli issues that we are going to back its policies on other issues.

On the contrary, the conference is more likely to show the inability of the US to produce results, thus undermining belief in American leverage in the region in general. It shines the spotlight on the most divisive issue, the great excuse for not doing more to help US efforts, raising its prominence.

What most of Washington simply fails to understand is that any real demand for Palestinian or Arab concessions will be fodder for radical groups and frighten Arab regimes, pushing the latter away from support for America rather than toward it. And any Israeli concessions obtained by this process will not satisfy their demands, either.

Despite thousands of claims by lots of famous people, national leaders and respected journals, solving the Arab-Israeli conflict will not make radical Islamism or terrorism go away.

Would you like to know why? Because even if this issue could be solved - which isn't about to happen for reasons requiring a different article - doing so would necessitate a compromise including an end to the conflict, acceptance of Israel and compromises by the Arab side.

These steps would inflame the extremists and make any Arab rulers who accepted them vulnerable to being called traitors. It would increase instability in the Arab world, also by removing the conflict as a splendid excuse and basis for mobilizing support for the current rulers. Arab politicians understand this reality; most people in the West don't.

Such considerations are accurate analytically, but the conference will take place anyway. It has been reinterpreted by the US government as the opening of a long-term process rather than its culmination. The analogy is with the Madrid meeting of 1991 - which started a nine-year-long, failed peace process - rather than the Camp David summit of 2000, which marked its breakdown.

Given the fact that the meeting is going to take place, and one would like to see as little damage result as possible, what is the worst mistake that could be made to ensure that an already difficult situation becomes worse? Answer: Invite Syria.

Let's remember a few things. The meeting was called to deal with the Palestinian issue. Bringing in the Syrian question is going to destroy that focus. Palestinian leaders know this to be true and are no doubt horrified by Damascus getting equal time.

But that's just the start of the problem. Run your eye back up the page to the five points listed as priorities for US policy.

Iraq? Syria is the main sponsor of the terrorist insurgency. It has a deep interest in ensuring that no moderate, stable, pro-Western regime takes root in Syria.

The radical alliance? Syria is a leading factor in the problem, a partner with Iran for 20 years. Anyone who believes that Damascus can be split from Teheran understands nothing about the mutual benefits Syria gets from the alliance - far greater than anything the West could possibly give to its dictator President Bashar Assad.

Iran's nuclear ambitions? The day Iran gets atomic weapons will be a great day for Syria, ensuring its strategic protection, damaging Western influence, and helping the radical Islamist cause that Syria backs.

American credibility? It undermines years of US efforts to pressure Assad away from radical adventurism. Syria can now show that it can kill Americans soldiers in Iraq, murder democratic Lebanese politicians, foment Hamas's takeover of the Gaza Strip and sponsor Hizbullah's effort to seize power in Lebanon - all without incurring any serious risk or cost.

On the contrary, Syria is now making demands on the US for concessions in order to entice it to show up. This is happening at the very moment when plans for an international trial of Syrian leaders for political assassinations in Lebanon are gathering momentum, as Syria's campaign to install a puppet government in Beirut has just been foiled.

Is the conference's purpose, however ill-conceived, to make progress on Arab-Israeli peace and strengthen the Palestinian Authority? Having Syria present lets in the main Arab sponsor of Hamas, a state working tirelessly to throw out the current Palestinian leadership and raise the level of Arab-Israeli violence.
Believing Assad really intends to negotiate peace seriously is folly enough. But inviting Syria is the equivalent of inviting Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida to an anti-terrorism conference.