On the New Middle East

"The dream permits us to change reality but the creation of reality is not like a dream."
(Jerusalem Post, May 4, 2000)

"The only thing I believe, you see, is that we had a dream and we thought the dream would never have a reality. Now we have a reality and we have the right to dream again — to create a different reality."
(Jerusalem Post, May 4, 2000)

COMMENT: Peres continues to dream and as a result, Israel continues to have nightmares.

"The Dimona reactor created deterrence, eliminating the assumption that Israel could be destroyed. It is no coincidence that we have not been attacked since the Yom Kippur war. Even institutionalized terror backed down. I believe this enabled our neighbors to understand that they had to parley with us. To make peace."
(Globes interview, Jan. 9, 2000

COMMENT: To say that "institutionalized terror" backed down is a cruel joke.

"The old Middle East has not yet disappeared completely and the new Middle East has not fully arrived. We are in the middle of it, so we still suffer from the past, and we still cannot see the fruits of the future. It is a transition. It does not depend upon any person, because there is no hope for wars and winning wars."
(Interview, David Makovsky, Jerusalem Post International Edition, April 20, 1996)

"[Asked about the risks of Oslo] I feel very strongly that we are gaining historically but losing politically. Which means that for the fruits of our decisions, which we'll be seeing in five or ten years, we have to pay the cost now."
(Interview with Mark Marvel, July 1995, findarticles.com)

COMMENT: Peres has missed the five year mark. The ten year deadline is coming up.

"A new Middle East will emerge free of violence, free of tyranny."
(Speech at AIPAC conference, April 28, 1996, printed in Near East Report, May 6, 1996)

"Without the engagement of the President [Clinton] and the Secretary of State, the Middle East would have continued to produce files of plans without partners — namely without peace."
(Speech at AIPAC conference, April 28, 1996, printed in Near East Report, May 6, 1996)

COMMENT: And with the involvement of the Clinton administration, one would be hard pressed to see either partners or peace for Israel.

"What was sown in Oslo cannot be erased. It began a new chapter, a chapter of hope, a chapter of security, a chapter of good neighbors, a chapter of peace."
(Article by Peres, Yediot Achronot, September 17, 2001)

COMMENT: Spoken in 2001, these words are truly unbelievable. Peres has gone through the looking glass.