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|b T he Arab region has witnessed three main strategic developments that may constitute the main framework for its future. Lebanon was exposed to a political earthquake that sent shockwaves in the region and has shaken the position of Syria. The Palestinian factions have succeeded for the first time in endorsing the Cairo Declaration that has paved the way for a more coherent political and organizational Palestinian system to emerge. A new government in Jordan has been appointed to steer its reform program. Such program will determine the Kingdom’s future for at least in the coming five years. The assassination of the Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri proved a catalyst for the subsequent political changes in Lebanon and the region. The public outrage that emerged from different sects, factions and political parties encouraged the international community to intervene and support the popular Lebanese mood to establish new parameters with Syria. Subsequently Syrian troops were forced to withdraw after their 19-year-old presence on Lebanese soil. The huge public demonstrations and rallies indicated a new era for Arab peoples to create their own agenda and future for reform, and the Arab regimes became more vulnerable in the face of such popular developments. On the other hand, the Cairo Declaration represented a new stage for inter-Palestinian relations and factional conciliation. Such success, seen as the most distinctive since the creation of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1964, is the outcome of new dynamics materialized through the Second Intifada. The uprising motivated the different political factions and people in creating a new Palestinian vision for the future based on their solidarity and unity. The Declaration represented collective Palestinian obligations to consolidate their common political program. It paved the way for reform and to rebuild a new Palestinian political system based on the Palestine National Authority, the PLO, and with the participation of Hamas and A1 Jihad A1 Islami. It brought forth the Palestinian cause to more regional and international concerns. It was also a breakthrough in regard to Palestinian regional and international relations and seen as a contribution to the reform program in the region. The Jordanian development is part of that regional process for change and reform. The new Government led by Prime Minister Adnan Badran has a reform agenda. It has different challenges to contend with which may be based on tribal, geographical and personal grounds, but these can be overcome if economic and political reforms are instituted and developed to have a direct bearing on the lives of ordinary people. Such developments in the Arab region bring real opportunity for the governing elites to respond appropriately and positively to the requirements of national comprehensive reform programs. The capability, intention, will and determination to change and reform would serve to build a new Arab Nation bloc that would take its rightful place in the international community of nations and begin to contribute to all of its political, cultural, economic, and intellectual activities. The realization of the governments and people that the complementary role they can conform is the practical alternative to any conflict that might emerge in the reform process for the independence, freedom and democracy must, surely be the new focus for the Arab Nation.
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