The Political Scene in Lebanon in the Eyes of a US Visitor
American Vice President Joseph Biden, throwing his arm around Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, during a six-hour- visit to Lebanon, Friday, May 22, 2009. Biden also called on the prime minister and the speaker of the house. In a deviation from protocol, he held a private meeting with six local politicians from the March 14 coalition and implied that his government will not be happy in the event they fail to gain a majority in the forthcoming parliamentary elections. Mr. Biden is known to be a vocal supporter of Israel.

The Political Situation in the Middle East as Viewed from Davos
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, left, and President Shimon Peres of Israel on Thursday, January 29, 2009, at a discussion on Gaza in Davos, Switzerland. Mr. Erdogan later walked out in anger (Read news story).

The Political Situation in the Middle East as European Leaders See it from Israeli Eyes
Political leaders of France, Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy and Czechia dining with Israel's Prime Minister in Jerusalem following their meeting with Egypt's President at Sharm el Sheikh, Sunday, January 18, 2009. The Europeans offered to police, through their naval forces, with Egypt as a silent but effective land partner, a comprehensive ban on all imports of weapons to Gaza as a condition for normalizing non-military traffic by reopening the few land gates to otherwise totally blockaded Gaza. Massive assassinations and other acts of murder and destruction by Israeli forces in Gaza over the past three weeks took the lives of over 1,300 Palestinians, caused over five thousand other casualties, destroyed over 5,000 housing units and badly damaged many more, left 50,000 people homeless, spread massive feelings of shock, disgust and horror all over the world, ended all illusions of a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, and effectively returned the conflict over Palestine to its status in 1948 following the declaration of the State of Israel which based its alleged legitimacy on a UN General Assembly partition resolution.

The Political Situation in the
Middle East as Seen from Damascus
President Assad of Syria meeting with the leaders of France, Turkey and Qatar in a surprise summit, Damascus, Thursday, September 4, 2008.

The Political Situation in Lebanon & the
Middle East as seen from Beirut:
Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hizbullah, greeting large crowds in Beirut celebrating the release from captivity in Israel of Samir Kuntar and four Hizbullah POWs who are seen flanking him.

Bush looks at a Koran during a tour of al-Murabba Palace and The National Museum, Jan. 15. Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said that Bush had "valid" concerns about a U.S. economic downturn, but he noted that other factors beyond the price of oil were affecting the U.S. economy.