How would you feel if a citizen of Russia came to your hometown and hired hundreds of mercenaries from Columbia, Africa and other places because to hire local soldiers the ruling elite feared the integrity of American soldiers would prevent them from following orders?

When you replace Russia with the United States the above scenario is the exact situation happening in the United Arab Emirates. Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of mercenaries-of-death-for-the-highest-bidder firm Blackwater Worldwide, has a $529 million contract to create an 800-member battalion of foreign "only" troops for the United Arab Emirates.

The likely primary reason for the new business opportunity for Mr. Prince is that former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak could not get his military to slaughter unarmed peaceful citizens. Mr. Prince gives Middle East dictators, including Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, the option of slaughtering peaceful people demanding civil rights. Mr. Prince, a real-world prince of death, now lives in the United Arab Emirates after fleeing the US to frustrate legal actions against him.

The fact the US government via the CIA is secretly sponsoring this project becomes clear when you remember American citizens are legally prohibited from training foreign soldiers without first obtaining a license from the State Department. Every person killed by this "Prince" of death clearly identified as the US citizen who created Blackwater mercenaries, will be attributed by the families of the victims as a death at the orders of the US.

We oppose Syria's use of lethal violence

Our opposition to killing should not be a surprise as our position is always the good which appears to be achieved is temporary and the evil inflicted is permanent. Over the last three months Syrian security forces have killed over 1,000 people protesting for freedom. President Bashar al-Assad will do more to help people by accelerating reforms for democracy than by continuing to authorize lethal force. Fortunately, this violence is not funded by our tax dollars or supported by our government.

Palestinian nonviolence statement needed

Many people in the US are fooled to believe Hamas and now the Hamas-Fatah unity government is seeking the destruction of Israel. The truth is in recent years clearer thinking has prevailed and been consistently communicated. Hamas president Khaled Meshaal has said the over 20 year old charter is "no longer relevant", welcomes nonviolent alternatives, and supports a two state solution. The supporting evidence that "the destruction of Israel" position is false is overwhelming and as former British ambassador to the United Nations, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, said in 2009 Hamas is "not intent on the destruction of Israel." He further explains that the Hamas charter was "drawn up by a Hamas-linked imam some years ago and has never been adopted since Hamas was elected as the Palestinian government in 2006." His statements, highly credible and consistent with our first-hand interviews in Gaza, are online and starting at 3 minutes and 54 seconds (see  http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7823000/7823746.stm).

The new Hamas-Fatah government should publicly and clearly disavow any hope or intention of wiping Israel off the map. In particular it should announce that the original manifesto of Hamas is null and void, replacing it, if need be, with one that represents its present views. Doing so would strengthen moderate voices in Israel and in the US that support a two-state solution, and deprive hawks of one of their main excuses for not negotiating with the Palestinians.

Guaranteeing media coverage is possible if the announcement is combined with releasing Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. This act of kindness is the right thing to do and will also raise visibility for the 5,395 Palestinians held by Israel.

Obama, Netanyahu hurt US national security and fuel anti-Semitism

On May 22nd, President Barack Obama gave a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies sometimes in conflict with US interests. The Teach Peace Foundation wants peace, security and a homeland for both Israelis and Palestinians. We consistently condemn the use of violence and applaud acts of kindness. So when President Obama said the US would stand by Israel unconditionally, we disagreed for the same reason we would oppose President Obama giving Palestinians unconditional support. Only the American people deserve his unconditional support and never at the expense of another nation. Our concern is Obama's announcement would give Israel permission to make decisions that hurt US national security. As a direct result, two days later Israel's leader gave a speech to the US Congress shutting down all hope for peace discussions.

Netanyahu, with President Obama handcuffing the US with the pledge of unconditional support, announced on May 24th there would be no negotiations at all with Palestinians, reinforcing the war propaganda "We will not negotiate with a government that includes Hamas, which seeks the destruction of Israel." The Palestinians including Hamas have stopped fighting among themselves with the signing of the Palestinian National Reconciliation Agreement. The united Palestinians, contrary to Netanyahu's claims designed to lead people to believe violence is Israel's only option, do not seek the destruction of Israel. The Arab League also does not call for the destruction of Israel and praised the Palestinian National Reconciliation Agreement. Dr. Ahmed Yousef has provided an analysis on why  Israeli leaders ignore the fact that Hamas has changed its views. The willingness of Hamas to adopt a two state solution is why the document is not even on the Hamas website although as noted in this newsletter a bold Palestinian statement of nonviolence will advance peace efforts. Should Israel also make a bold statement of nonviolence and respond to rockets with acts of kindness, it will greatly counter the global anti-Semitism fueled by using overwhelming 21st century military power against adversaries without a single tank or airplane.

One of the most troubling realities for Netanyahu of the new agreement between Fatah and Hamas is the two groups could never unite with a common platform calling for the destruction of Israel. The recently announced Fatah and Hamas unity agreement will continue to result in well-informed people to conclude that peace for both Israelis and Palestinians is possible. Nonetheless, Netanyahu poured concrete into his position by rejecting President Obama's recommendation to start with the 1967 borders, refusing compensation or consideration for Palestinians forced from their homes, and refusal to share Jerusalem which is a city where even in 2011 Palestinians are still being illegally evicted from their homes.

Netanyahu's "no negotiation" hard-line position will continue to destroy what is left of Palestine, will eventually destroy what what is good about Israel, and fuels anti-Semitism. Together with Obama's unconditional support the two men are paving the path for continued violence meaning non-elite Americans, Israelis and Palestinians will suffer. With multiple nations in possession of the atomic bomb, applying World War II or the Native American conquest thinking, is very dangerous for anyone who cares about Israel.

The Ten Commandments, something Jews, Christians and Muslims see as more than ten suggestions, forbids stealing homes and coveting anything that belongs to your neighbor. Netanyahu's announcement is inconsistent with the laws Moses carried from Mount Sinai. President Obama's unconditional support can even make our Teach Peace international work to deliver acts of kindness dangerous. Our Teach Peace position, you should not kill, is another one of the Ten Commandments providing guidance that paves the path for peace.

Martin Luther King, Jr. provided us guidance we need as peacemakers and for our personal salvation on these difficult issues. He said: "Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right."

Special note:

Civilian deaths in Libya escalate

President Barack Obama announced in London on May 25th that there would be "no let up" in the massive bombing of Libya.

The "economic sanctions and no-fly zone operation" has transformed into "destroy-Libya's-infrastructure operation." The destruction of water treatment, power facilities and the country's infrastructure for the general welfare of civilians reminds us of when a senior United Nations official reported more children were killed by sanctions and infrastructure bombing in Iraq than by both the Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombs combined.

"In absolute terms we estimate that perhaps about half a million children under 5 years of age have died, who ordinarily would not have died had the decline in mortality that was prevalent over the 70s and the 80s continued through the 90s.'' Anupama Rao Singh, country director for the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), July 21, 2000

The NATO violence that started on March 19th to bring about a New World Order has little to do with Muammar Gaddafi or protecting civilian life. The new oil contracts with the rebel government's new central bank tell the real story of why President Obama is leading the charge to slaughter civilians.

"What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone...And what we want is the protection of civilians and not the shelling of more civilians."  Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa