As a result, the rest of the world is finding a first-rate political Crisis in the Middle East arising out of the American shortage of domestic oil, and America has become, in the last three years, a nett importer of oil.
They have just come out with a declaration demanding that the Powers should deal with the Middle East Crisis through the United Nations Security Council, and should also use the United Nations Social and Economic Council and the International Labour Office for policies of economic co-operation in that area.
We have become familiar in these debates, since we have had a Middle East Crisis, to Ministers speaking from one day to another with conflicting views which leave the House and the country in confusion.
It will be within the recollection of the House that the right hon. Gentleman said that before the Middle East Crisis arose we werealready facing a desperate economic crisis, referring to the £ being unsafe to hold and speaking of the possibility of devaluation in 1957.
In other words, he could not move into the easier times that he had expected because of the grave physical and financial problems and difficulties caused by the Middle East Crisis.
Mr. Harold Davies asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will issue a White Paper dealing with the economic consequences of the Middle East Crisis.
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will issue a White Paper dealing with the economic consequences of the Middle East Crisis.
It is their hope that the Present Middle East Crisis will result in a stronger United Nations capable of enforcing the resolutions which it adopts.
Nevertheless, I felt constrained to say that I share what I believe to be a widespread impression that the Corporation has not maintained standards of impartiality during the past few weeks over the Crisis in the Middle East.
Middle East Crisis, Economic consequences, 740.
In view of the weakness of the country's energy position revealed by the Middle East Crisis and the restriction of our oil supplies, would the right hon. Gentleman not agree that there is urgent need for very quick action in this matter?
Mr. Moss asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will take steps to facilitate the return to the coal industry of coal miners called up as reservists because of the Middle East Crisis.
I cannot accept at all his account of the connection between the affairs of Eastern Europe and the Crisis in the Middle East.
In view of the hostile part played by the Soviet Government in the Middle East Crisis and the many examples we have recently had of the dangers of undue reliance on Soviet good will, Her Majesty's Government do not propose relying upon the Soviet Union for assistance in a matter such as this, which is vital to our economy.
I do not blame the Tory Government - I never have, and I do not believe that any of my hon. Friends have blamed them - for the Crisis in the Middle East.
Moreover, it was directly due to the action of the United States in withdrawing her promise to Egypt to provide funds for the Aswan Dam that hit Nasser in the face and forced him, in order to save his face, to nationalise the Canal and so precipitate the Whole Middle East Crisis.
In view of this new political Crisis in the Middle East, we would be ill advised to place increasing dependence on fuel oil.
If that is the situation, what would the position have been in the Crisis in the Middle East if the Minister of Defence had got his reforms under way two years ago, as he would liked to have done?
He stated how he thought the Government should have handled the present Crisis in the Middle East.
I hope that at long last they will be heeded; that a firm agreement abolishing testswill be quickly signed; that China will be given her rightful place in the United Nations; that the true lessons will be drawn from this summer's Crisis in the Middle East, and that these will be the first steps back to sanity and to using the United Nations as a genuine instrument of peace.
On 14th July, 1958, he said:In view of this new political Crisis in the Middle East, we would be ill advised to place increasing dependence on fuel oil.
The third factor is that the political Crisis in the Middle East did not turn out to be the obstacle to the flow of oil which many of us feared.
A matter of three years ago, there was a serious Crisis in the Middle East.
Tomorrow, or next week, there may be a Crisis in the Middle East, in Persia, in South East Asia or almost anywhere.
It is doubtful whether, in the future, we could use forces from the Malaysia area, which are based on Singapore, to deal with a Crisis in the Middle East.
We must not forget that at the time of the Middle East Crisis in 1956 it proved impossible to include Canadians in the United Nations Force in the Middle East simply because they wore British type uniforms and their regiments had British names.
There is Crisis in the Middle East, where, under provocation, the Israeli attack on Arab forces has caused much greater bloodshed than anyone here can have expected.
In many ways this has been a more distinguished debate than the last on the Middle East, because then, although the whole Crisis of the Middle East was boiling up, the Foreign Secretary did not so much as mention Israel once in the whole of his speech.
In the Middle East Crisis, however, the great Powers which are concerned, and, indeed, who are committed by their statements, are not in complete control of the situation because the action of countries on the spot, those to whom commitments have been made - on the Arab side, not necessarily one country - or a dangerous border incident coming from either side - either of these things could trigger off conflagration and involve the great Powers.
My hon. Friend will know about the difficulties which arose yesterday because of the bursting of the Middle East Crisis.
As I said, I discussed this at considerable length with the President of the United States, because we both agreed that the Crisis in the Middle East was no reason for neglecting a much more long-standing crisis in Asia.
This has been heightened by the Middle East Crisis.
The second reason why I think that this surcharge should have been repeated is that, however quickly the Crisis in the Middle East is settled, it is bound to have a damaging effect on our economy.
All that I wished to say was that the economic difficulties which we are likely to be in as a result of the Crisis in the Middle East may well make another bout of emergency meassures necessary.
We have been in very close touch at every turn and development during the Middle East Crisis.
We are in the throes of a Middle East Crisis, and yet, after all the blood and bitterness and hatred that had to be gone through in order to achieve a base upon Cyprus, in the middle of the crisis we are told that we cannot use that base.
Will my right hon. Friend say when it is proposed to discuss the general question of the Middle East Crisis, apart from Aden?
The United Nations Mission had not made any real progress in its efforts to talk to these people up to the time that the Middle East Crisis made everything that much more difficult.
The statements my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made during the Middle East Crisis were admirable, courageous and correct.
The hon. Gentleman succeeded in discussing the Middle East Crisis, so I cannot imagine what it is that he was not allowed to include in his speech and that was not within the rules of order.
I go on to deal with the question of gas sales to industrial consumers, raised by the hon. Member for Wanstead and Woodford, and others, all of whom stressed the need to go ahead with sales of natural gas to industry, especially in the light of lessons to be learnt from the Middle East Crisis.
Certainly, it is the policy, Middle East Crisis or not, to avoid excessive dependence on imported fuels wherever this is possible.
The Leader of the House will recall that during the Middle East Crisis he promised the House a debate when the moment was appropriate.
I had long and valuable talks in Washington with President Johnson and in New York with Mr. Kosygin and Mr. Gromyko, with Mr. Rusk, Monsieur Couve de Murville, and with the Foreign Ministers and other representatives of almost all the countries directly concerned in the Middle East Crisis.
During the five days that I was in the United States I addressed the Emergency Session of the United Nations General Assembly; I had long and valuable talks in Washington with President Johnson and in New York with Mr. Kosygin and Mr. Gromyko, with Mr. Rusk, Monsieur Couve de Murville, and with the Foreign Ministers and other representatives of almost all the countries directly concerned in the Middle East Crisis.
If one wants to see what competition has done to current affairs, one has only to consider the coverage of something like the Middle East Crisis in the past few weeks, and how well it was done by both channels.
Freight rates, for example, vary very widely, but they are, at the moment, broadly three times as high as they were before the Middle East Crisis.
If we want to go to the final authority on economic affairs, the ultimate in economic commentary, the right hon. and learned Member for St. Marylebone (Mr. Hogg) writes in this month's Punch:So much confidence have people in sterling that I am told that the sterling balances when removed from London as a consequence of the Middle East Crisis were prudently reinvested there by the international financiers to whom they have confided.
Would he not further agree that the Recent Middle East Crisis has underlined how vital our indigenous resources of coal are?
I am not sure whether the hon. and learned Gentleman knows that the Algerians cut off the gas supply at the outbreak of the Middle East Crisis.
As I have tried to show, the Crisis in the Middle East has thrown into relief a number of varied problems.
The first is the recognition that the Middle East Crisis can only be solved by negotiation between the parties, with as little interference as possible by other powers.
Members are aware that there is an enormous amount of work going on at present, both by the Government and the oil companies, to minimise the effects of the Middle East Crisis.
My guess is that it will be blamed upon a deteriorating balance of payments arising out of the Crisis in the Middle East.
Mr. Alexander W. Lyon asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what was the total cost of damage to British embassies and consulates abroad due to public disturbances during the Recent Middle East Crisis.
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what was the total cost of damage to British embassies and consulates abroad due to public disturbances during the Recent Middle East Crisis.
The Prime Minister had no exchange on the hot line with Mr. Kosygin during the Middle East Crisis.
The absence of this means of communication did not prevent the frequent exchange of messages, through the Ambassador there, between Mr. Kosygin and myself during the Middle East Crisis.
Recently, my right hon. Friend has told us of the seriousness of the oil supply position as a result of the Middle East Crisis, with all the fear which that creates in the minds of the people.
How will he explain away the fact that, notwithstanding the Middle East Crisis, we are using more oil today, on the basis of the last available figures in June, than we have ever used, and at a time when there are great dangers about guaranteeing supplies from the Middle East?
Anyone looking in retrospect at the Recent Middle East Crisis can see that, once again, the United Nations has demonstrated its indispensability.
My hon. and learned Friend the Member for Brigg (Mr. E. L. Mallalieu), in discussing the Crisis in the Middle East, referred to the Early Day Motion on the Order Paper dealing with the possibility of a United Nations presence in Sinai, with United Nations control of that area.
When I look back over the last three years I reflect how sterling, for example, has come through the Middle East Crisis, and I realise that it could not have done it either in the summer of 1964 or even subsequently, this is a measure of the progress that is being made.
But the Chancellor knows full well that before the Middle East Crisis could have any effect his balance of payments surplus had gone and that the deficit on current account for the first six months of this year was greater than the total deficit on current account for the whole of last year; that is, on trading account.
This, together with the temporary effect of the Middle East Crisis, must inevitably - and we must face this - with higher oil costs, postpone full recovery in the United Kingdom balance of payments.
Malta has contracted out, as she recently did in the Middle East Crisis.
The other point is that there has been a worsening in our overall payments position due to the Middle East Crisis.
This being so, I particularly draw attention to Recommendation 498 of the Council of Europe, the last paragraph of which calls on the Committee of Ministers… to take all appropriate steps in order to reach a common European stand on the Middle East Crisis".
In the circumstances following the Middle East Crisis, certain public authorities and nationalised industries were asked to cut back temporarily on their planned use of petroleum products, and the present surcharge on oil prices also provides a strong incentive to economise in their use.
We also discussed the Middle East Crisis, which has important consequences for Norway, particularly on the question of shipping.
The Middle East Crisis, the docks strike and, we must admit, our correct moral stand on Rhodesia affected the position.
I will remind the House of an expression used by Winston Churchill when he went to Cairo at the time of the Crisis in the Middle East.
Even last summer we were still facing, in the Middle East Crisis, the difficulties of the action of right hon. Gentlemen opposite - the right hon. Member was in it up to the neck himself - in breaking our word under the Charter and to Middle Eastern countries.
Mr. W. O. J. Robinson asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether agreement has now been reached with the various countries involved for compensation for damage to United Kingdom embassies during the Middle East Crisis.
Mr. Alan Lee Williams asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how soon he expects that diplomatic relations will be resumed with those countries which broke off relations with Great Britain during the Middle East Crisis.
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether agreement has now been reached with the various countries involved for compensation for damage to United Kingdom embassies during the Middle East Crisis.
The tariff proposals were drawn up before the temporary surcharge arising out of the Middle East Crisis but they did take account of the increase in the fuel oil tax in 1966 which added about £1 million a year to costs.
is due to the effects of last year's Middle East Crisis on the costs of the industry's oil feedstocks.
A review is going on at this moment of the surcharge made by oil companies as a result of the Middle East Crisis last summer.
Mr. Dewar asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs with what countries claims remain outstanding for compensation for damage to United Kingdom embassies during the Middle East Crisis last summer.
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs with what countries claims remain outstanding for compensation for damage to United Kingdom embassies during the Middle East Crisis last summer.
Mr. Gunter: The temporary surcharge on petrol and other oil products, resulting from last summer's Middle East Crisis, is currently under review.
per therm on account of the Middle East Crisis will not, therefore, be a lasting burden on the costs of the gas industry.
Would not my right hon. Friend agree that the resolution which we sponsored at the United Nations continues to provide the most helpful basis for a solution to the Middle East Crisis and that we should bring home to all the parties involved that their full cooperation is necessary if the resolution is to succeed?
Mr. Colin Jackson asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further steps he is taking in order to assist in the securing of a settlement of the Current Middle East Crisis.
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further steps he is taking in order to assist in the securing of a settlement of the Current Middle East Crisis.
If one looks at the growing Crisis in the Middle East clinically and without emotion, simply considering how one can unjam the log-jam, one is drawn to the conclusion that the aim to go for is some how to persuade the Israelis to withdraw under the Security Council resolution.
In view of the sober remarks by the President of the United States about the significance of the Middle East Crisis for world peace, can my right hon. Friend assure us that Britain stands by her position, as declared in the November, 1967, resolution, and that we will argue to the United States that, to find a solution, it is absolutely essential to understand the position of both sides?
Has the Leader of the House seen the Motion on the Order Paper in the names of a large number of hon. Members and myself calling for urgent action in relation to the worsening Crisis in the Middle East?
If the name "St. Michael" was to go, presumably the least that would happen would be another Crisis in the Middle East.
] The Middle East Crisis is not a laughing matter, even for the hon. Gentleman.
As the Prime Minister has not yet arranged to visit Moscow, would he in the meantime do everything to strengthen Anglo-French relations over the gathering Crisis in the Middle East about which he has been talking to the Russians?
There is a serious Crisis in the Middle East.
I agree with the hon. Member for Leicester, South-East (Mr. Peel) that European countries should play a bigger part in the Middle East Crisis.
During the Middle East Crisis of 1967, Britain was at the top table - in Washington, Paris, Moscow and Ottawa.
But I see no reason to suppose that either the Soviet Union or the United States now regard the Middle East Crisis as an obstacle to further progress towards détente.
But I also believe that this is a time when friends of the United States should speak very frankly about our relations with the Americans and about our feelings over American conduct in the Middle East Crisis and also during the important months and years which preceded it.
Although the House has rightly concerned itself with the Crisis in the Middle East, a number of other questions have been raised, to which I shall now refer.
Many hon. Members have said that they have a feeling, which I share, that the dreadful events of the past month may well have given the world the opportunity of a new approach to the terrible continuing Crisis in the Middle East.
The differences that have been highlighted by the Crisis in the Middle East go not deeper but rather broader.
] I am absolutely certain that in the climate of the Middle East Crisis there would be no handicap to any Government announcing measures to restrict, allocate, or ration petrol.
Mr. Frank Allaun asked the Prime Minister what consultation he had with President Nixon during the Middle East Crisis.
asked the Prime Minister what consultation he had with President Nixon during the Middle East Crisis.
The nine members of the Community have kept in close touch throughout the Middle East Crisis, in New York, in Middle East capitals and through meetings at various levels of the political co-operation machinery.
Whether it would have been effective before the Middle East Crisis, before the likely effect of the rise in oil prices, is not something that we need argue about now.
That being so, and to come to the second part of the hon. Lady's question, in view also of the uncertainty about oil supplies owing to the Crisis in the Middle East, the Government are in no doubt that it is necessary straight away to take measures required to conserve fuel supplies of all kinds and to make sure, as far as it is possible, that fuel supplies are directed to the most essential purposes in order to maintain public life and work over the maximum period and with the minimum of inconvenience.
First, we had the condition of grave uncertainty about our oil supplies arising from the war and the continuing Crisis in the Middle East.
The Home Secretary, after questioning on Tuesday, but not before questioning, and not in his original declaration, admitted that the uncertainty of oil supplies owing to the Crisis in the Middle East was an important factor in the state of emergency.
It is true that I did not do so in my opening statement, but in my very next answer I said:… in view also of the uncertainty about oil supplies owing to the Crisis in the Middle East".
The Government declared a state of emergency because of the miners' overtime ban yet they were unconcerned some days before when the newspapers said that oil supplies were threatened by the Middle East Crisis.
How can we plan an economy when a Middle East Crisis and the unpredictable reactions of Arab oil sheiks in the Gulf can make a difference of £400 million to a country's balance of payments at the drop of a hat?
The third reason why the balance-of-payments position has not righted itself yet is that commodity prices peaked in August and we had the effect on the October import bill at just the same time that we had the initial effects of the Middle East Crisis through the unfortunate increase in oil prices.
We have all lived far too long under the shadow of war and, as we saw from the Middle East Crisis, even the most limited war can spill over very easily into the threat of world annihilation.
It was quite clear that the world was heading for shortages of crude oil long before the Middle East Crisis, so Middle East politics have merely accelerated the process.
The Middle East Crisis has been mentioned many times during the debate.
This decision needs very careful consideration What I have said previously about the Middle East Crisis may not have been accepted by everyone.
My intention this afternoon is to begin with a fairly brief account of the recent NATO meetings and one or two aspects of the Middle East Crisis.
There was a difference in approach to the Middle East Crisis, both within Europe itself and between Europe and the United States.
If we examine the Middle East Crisis, it is clear that on both sides there has been a degree of bad management.
This has been dramatically illustrated by the Middle East Crisis and the ensuing fuel problems.
He made some rather serious charges about lack of consultation by the United States in putting its forces on a national alert during the Middle East Crisis.
The Middle East Crisis and its serious consequences for the industrialised world were in the forefront and the meeting concentrated on these issues.
Arising from the Middle East Crisis and the last miners' strike, we discovered that the nation had been wrong to contract its mining industry.
We notice how the Soviet Union is immediately alerted when there is a Crisis in the Middle East, if there are NATO exercises in the North Sea, or if there seems to be a crisis of some sort brewing in the Mediterranean.
Despite the remarks made by the hon. and learned Member for Leicester, West (Mr. Greville Janner), I agree with the hon. Member for Westbury (Mr. Walters) that at the end of the day, if the Middle East Crisis is to be resolved it must and can be resolved only by facing the reality - and the reality is that the PLO, however appalling some of the things it may have done, represents the Palestinians.
If we face a further Crisis in the Middle East in a few months' time, does the Community know what its attitude will be?
I agree with the hon. Member for Westbury (Mr. Walters), who drew attention to the Middle East Crisis and the significance and implications of a solution in that area.
Is my right hon. Friend aware that many Arab nations are deeply disappointed about the supine attitude of the British Foreign Office towards the Middle East Crisis?
I think that this is a year when we might get nearer to a settlement of the Middle East Crisis.
I remind him that the Nine, at their meeting last week, went on record with a formal statement but making plain in that statement that they continued their commitment to the concept of Geneva as remaining vital in the Whole Middle East Crisis.
of the oil in the event of Another Middle East Crisis, for example?
Mr. Adley asked the Lord Privy Seal what steps he intends to take to help to achieve a peaceful solution to the Middle East Crisis arising from continued denial of Palestinian rights.
asked the Lord Privy Seal what steps he intends to take to help to achieve a peaceful solution to the Middle East Crisis arising from continued denial of Palestinian rights.
The immediate Crisis in the Middle East comes from the Iran-Iraq war, which at present is at stalemate.
9, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,the Crisis in the Middle East".
9, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he believes should have urgent consideration, namely,the Crisis in the Middle East.
Mr. Archie Hamilton asked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the progress of the European initiative to solve the Crisis in the Middle East.
Mr. Archie Hamilton asked the Lord Privy Seal if he is satisfied with progress being made towards a settlement of the Middle East Crisis.
As the House knows, I dealt with a similar application yesterday afternoon dealing with the same Crisis in the Middle East.
What has happened in the Lebanon in the past two weeks is part of a general Crisis in the Middle East that the Foreign Secretary rightly warned us today, and on television last week, could escalate out of control into a super-power confrontation.
So, despite the ever-present risk of a Middle East Crisis, or a growth in oil demand - both of which could cause an escalation of oil prices and profits - the prevailing view today, in the short term at least, is that world oil prices are unlikely to increase, at least in real terms, and will probably even decline further.
Loose arrangements or not, F111s in the United Kingdom were put on full alert during the 1973 Middle East Crisis without consultation with ourselves.
In the event of a Middle East Crisis, or the exhaustion of North sea reserves, or an expansion in our economy, a pit that is lost or closed now is another pit that is lost for good.
Will the Government now devote their efforts to persuading the Soviet and American leaderships to devote their attention to the Middle East Crisis which clearly represents a threat to both of them as well as to the rest of the world?
Instead, I shall address myself to the Middle East Crisis, especially after visiting both Jordan and Israel recently.
My right hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Mr. Heath), whom I am sorry is not in his place, reminded us that in 1973 he refused the request of the United States to use British bases in moves designed to deter direct Soviet intervention in the Middle East Crisis.
I agree with his view that there is a bulge in international production of coal as a result of the large investment that took place after the escalation of coal prices because of the Middle East Crisis.
Our continental European friends have not shown quite the response that I had hoped for to the Crisis in the Middle East.
More refugees will die in Jordan than have died so far in this Crisis in the Middle East.
If we had had a Middle East Crisis on this scale five years ago, we could now be on the brink of world war.
The last time I addressed the House on the subject of a Crisis in the Middle East was 13 September 1956.
But there will be another Crisis in the Middle East unless we find a solution now to the Palestinian problem.
Will my right hon. Friend assure the House this evening that "Options for Change" will be shelved, at least until the Middle East Crisis is clarified?
That must be in conjunction with a peace conference to resolve the Middle East Crisis, and to strengthen the United Nations and international law.
Mr. David Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps have been taken by his Department to tighten airline security in respect of the continuing dangers posed to British interests by the Crisis in the Middle East.
While I am sure that there is widespread agreement in the House about the murderous activities of Saddam Hussein, surely there are profound and genuinely sincere differences of view about President Bush's interpretation of resolution 678 and other matters relating to the Middle East Crisis.
It is to our advantage to have normalised our relations with such an important regional power at this time of Crisis in the Middle East.
The intractability of the continual Crisis of the Middle East has caused deep concern for decades, but, because the insecurity and the suffering of that crisis was the plight of others, those wars were often merely regretted and even more often tolerated.
Is the Prime Minister aware that many of us admire the way in which he and his Government have handled the Middle East Crisis?
Sir David Steel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what efforts he will make to assist the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in ensuring adequate nutrition and medical facilities in the Gaza strip during the Present Middle East Crisis.
Whether or not people like it, finding a solution to the Crisis in the Middle East lies in a study of the history of British, European and United States interference in the area over the years.
Since it is impossible to deal with one aspect of the Middle East Crisis without considering other actions and developments in the crisis, will the right hon. Gentleman- [Interruption.
United Nations resolution 242, for example, still represents the best way of dealing with the Middle East Crisis.
The terms of the motion are rather narrow and do not allow any debate on the Middle East Crisis, the position in South Africa or British aid to Pakistan following the flood disaster.
World energy prices are low, but what if there were to be Another Middle East Crisis - we have had those in the past - and there were a shortage?
Finally, this Crisis in the Middle East, which required a military response - and continues to require a military presence - occurred after the decision that the United Kingdom and the United States would stay on in Bosnia and during a difficult time in Northern Ireland.
I was very disappointed by the reply that the Leader of the House gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, South (Mr. Gapes) on his request for a debate on the Middle East Crisis, because it is a desperately serious situation.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Middle East Crisis.
The foreign-owned company could be based in a country where, in the event of a Crisis in the Middle East, the population and the Government might support, to put it crudely, a different side to that supported by the British Government.
I suspect that this XAmerica first" idea of projecting its policy and bringing along the allies afterwards may not be the best approach for calming the deteriorating Middle East Crisis, to which the noble Baroness referred, where the real trouble is that there are no leaders.
My last point concerns the Crisis in the Middle East.
As the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Fife said, we must also consider the sad reversal of Camp David and the enormous dangers that the Crisis in the Middle East poses to us all.
My Lords, the reference to human rights in the gracious Speech and the increasingly urgent call for Europe and Britain to play a more active part in the Current Middle East Crisis prompt me to draw attention to what I believe is a grave issue and one on which Her Majesty's Government might form a serious view and even consider initiating action.
All those elements must come together, not just in the fight against terrorism but in the resolution of the Middle East Crisis and, in particular, in dealing with the deep and abiding frustrations that have built up over the years.
On the matter of the minds of certain people, it was clearly horrible, stupid and wrong to write that e-mail, but at a time when our country is engaged in a war against terrorism, when our armed forces are committed in Afghanistan, when there is a Crisis in the Middle East and in Northern Ireland, is it not horrible, stupid and wrong for the Conservative Opposition to waste a day on the career of a junior adviser and the Government's relations with the press?
If we are to find a solution, the Middle East Crisis is highly relevant.
To gain their support, and more importantly, their trust, in our campaign against worldwide terrorism, a vital step must be the settlement of the Middle East Crisis.
If Conservative Members really wanted a topical motion, they should have chosen one on the Crisis in the Middle East.
Having listened to the noble Baroness, I am struck - as I am sure are many noble Lords - by the way in which that event, and the huge campaign against terrorism which has grown from it, interweaves and interconnects a vast range of issues which, in the past, we often used to discuss separately - for instance, issues of military deployment; of our own security; of development and third world and humanitarian aid; of the Middle East Crisis and Gulf stability, to which the noble Baroness referred; of the future role of European defence forces and the role they will play, if any, in Afghanistan; of the role of NATO and the way it should be reshaped in the light of 11th September; of the handling of Russia and the way in which the Russians now fit into the global pattern and the pattern of reorganisation in Afghanistan, where again there are now Russian troops; and of our own civil liberties and internal security, which we debated in your Lordships' House last week.
Your Lordships will not expect me to offer a quick fix to the Middle East Crisis.
The elements of the present Crisis in the Middle East are clear.
The difficulties facing all sides seeking a peaceful solution to the Middle East Crisis are not insignificant.
If the answer to the political Crisis in the Middle East were the overwhelming use of force, blood, ire, fire and war, General Sharon's Israel would be the most peaceful place on earth.
It is interesting that Mr Cheney has begun to change his tune somewhat and, in the past couple of days, speak as if he too thinks that perhaps the Middle East Crisis should take priority.
Having very much welcomed the Prime Minister's Statement on the Crisis in the Middle East, the question of an approach towards Iraq to deal with the problems thrown up by that country raises huge and uncertain issues which need to be discussed in Parliament.
I am glad to note that a great deal of attention was given in the Prime Minister's meetings with President Bush to the current Crisis in the Middle East.
Many noble Lords have, quite understandably, again referred to the great and terrible difficulties of the Crisis in the Middle East, a situation which I referred to earlier as a potential catastrophe.
The appalling terrorist attack this morning has reminded us - as he pointed out - that the Crisis in the Middle East remains on a knife edge.
I need hardly say that the harm that it would do to the present awful Crisis in the Middle East - the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians - does not bear thinking of, so, on that count alone, I urge caution.
Of course Members found another opportunity to raise their concerns about the Crisis in the Middle East, but there is something wrong with a tabling system by which Members of the House of Commons, in holding the Foreign Secretary to scrutiny, cannot raise the biggest single foreign policy issue.
In fairness to the Government and the House, I remind my hon. Friend that only the other day we provided a full day for debate on the Middle East Crisis, which is an issue of the gravest concern to the Government.
This time last week, I was at a two-day meeting in Valencia of what is called EuroMed, an EU-Mediterranean states meeting, which was completely dominated by the Middle East Crisis.
Is not it important that we do not let the Crisis in the Middle East divert our attention from what is happening in Zimbabwe now that the election has been stolen, as everybody predicted?
Tony Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he (a) has taken and (b) plans to take on the Middle East Crisis with his European partners.
Finally, we discussed the grave Crisis in the Middle East.
Does she accept that we, like the Government, welcome the Us positive engagement in the Middle East Crisis; and, indeed, express the hope that they will persist as it will be an arduous and long process?
We must show that simply exhortation and setting processes in train is no more sufficient for the Middle East Crisis than it is for Iraq.
I recognise, as I am sure do many noble Lords, that there are practical reasons - so called "realpolitik" - for encouraging the positive elements in Iran and developing links with an important country as regards the Middle East Crisis and the Gulf crisis.
There is the Crisis in the Middle East.
Do the Government intend to develop an EU policy towards the Middle East Crisis, especially in the light of the fact that an additional role for the EU might be very much welcomed at present?
The current Crisis in the Middle East is not entirely due to the events of the last year or so.
Finally, in the light of the current Crisis in the Middle East, which will affect airlines, is the Minister aware of airlines being unable to obtain insurance cover?
The Crisis in the Middle East highlights the importance of accurate, up-to-date information and of cross-cultural, trans-national communications for the future peace of the world.
I have the same view as the hon. Gentleman about the importance of resolving the Middle East Crisis, but there is no justification or excuse for that sort of terrorism.
The past year has witnessed the war in Iraq and the ongoing post-conflict situation; the continuation of the fight against international terrorism, particularly in Afghanistan; concerns about weapons of mass destruction in places such as Iran and North Korea; the Ongoing Middle East Crisis; and, lest we forget, problems in sub-Saharan Africa, in countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo and Zimbabwe.
We know that she gives a very substantial part of her undoubtedly great energy and thought to the Middle East Crisis and to how to move in the right direction.
Whether we succeed in re-establishing Iraq as a stable, functioning democracy, taking its rightful place in the international community in time to avert a wider Crisis in the Middle East, is also debatable.
Supreme leader Khamenei has stated that the only way to solve the Middle East Crisis is to "destroy the Zionist regime", which he describes as a "cancerous tumour".
I know that the noble Baroness will share my disappointment that the Crisis in the Middle East meant that there was less momentum behind the initiatives on Africa and fighting world poverty.
We must do all that we can to ensure that the conclusion of the Crisis in the Middle East is one that we want and not one that we would all find it impossible to support.
May I associate myself with my right hon. Friend's remarks on the Middle East Crisis, which clearly overshadowed the summit, and particularly on the need for a proportionate response?
Whatever the proximate causes of the Current Middle East Crisis, is it not clear that there will be no solution while Muslims believe that the political route to a viable and sustainable Palestinian state is blocked and at the same time Israel believes that it can get more by the use of military force and annexation of large tracts of Palestinian land than by seriously negotiating the Quartet road map?
Yesterday, I welcomed his decision to change today's business to enable the House to debate the growing Crisis in the Middle East.
Of course, there is terrible violence and an enormous Crisis in the Middle East, and that is the immediate pretext for today's debate.
The Crisis in the Middle East is a tremendous challenge to the international community, and I fear that we will not rise to it.
The right hon. Lady asked whether there would be an opportunity for a statement on the Crisis in the Middle East.
The current Crisis in the Middle East and the ongoing negotiations with Iran provide the international community with huge and pressing security challenges, but, of course, we face other such challenges in that region and across the globe.
Our priority is the immediate Crisis in the Middle East, in which EU representatives and others may have a constructiverole to play.
Only the other day he laid the blame for the Crisis in the Middle East at the door of Syria and Iran, saying that the Iranian regime supported terrorist activity across the region and Hezbollah in particular.
However long and drawn out the Crisis of the Middle East has been, and is, we must persevere with our moderate friends to find a way forward that will bring peace as opposed to war in the Middle East.
Through our permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council, our key role in NATO and the Commonwealth we have responsibilities to work with others to tackle the many issues already raised today - the ongoing Crisis in the Middle East, the atrocities in Darfur and the appalling situation in Zimbabwe - and not to lose sight of the traumas in Burma.
In order to understand how this country and this Government were approaching the Middle East Crisis, it was important to know what relationship there was between the Prime Minister and his predecessor.
More and more voices counsel direct contact between the quartet, Israel and Hamas, for it has been said that this, more than any other, Crisis in the Middle East is not resolvable by military means alone.
There is absolutely no doubt that Hamas is a critical player in the Crisis in the Middle East, and neither I nor, I am sure, other parliamentarians are here to defend its role.
As we know, the recent spike in the price of fuel has been driven in part by rising world oil costs, especially as a consequence of the Crisis in the Middle East, but the Government have heaped unnecessary extra pain on people by hiking VAT to 20%, adding 3p to a litre of fuel.
We cannot blame the Chancellor for the rise in world oil prices resulting from the Middle East Crisis.
The average price for 2011 will be higher, mainly because of the Crisis in the Middle East.
As to early warning and early response, no one predicted the current Crisis in the Middle East, or that it would start in Tunisia.
If we are ever to get a resolution to the Middle East Crisis, we will need such gestures from the Arab world as an attempt to go some way towards healing the wounds of the past.
May I press the Leader of the House on the present Crisis in the Middle East and urge him to reconsider and try to find time for an urgent debate so that the House can make clear its views?
I suggest that the Crisis in the Middle East is too important for the area to be used as a political football.
I hope that, in the course of the programme outlined in the Queen's Speech, the Crisis in the Middle East will be addressed more trenchantly.
I had already written a note about what I might say, which was that it was impossible to overstate the scale of the Crisis in the Middle East.
It is an important one, and we need to focus on the Government's response to what is an extremely serious Crisis in the Middle East.
The Crisis in the Middle East has led to a substantial demand for humanitarian relief, of which the UK has been one of the most important sponsors: £600 million of our funding has gone to support refugees in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and of course continues to go to Israel and Palestine.
My Lords, it was against a background of extraordinary danger and profound Crisis in the Middle East that it was heartening to see one important diplomatic breakthrough this week: the meeting in New York on Wednesday in the margins of the UN between the Prime Minister David Cameron and President Rouhani of Iran - the first high-level meeting involving heads of government of our two countries since the revolution of 1979, some 35 years ago.
The continuing trauma, insecurity and devastation caused by the lack of a negotiated solution to the Middle East Crisis continues to be obvious and to provoke considerable concern in all our communities.
The first job I ever had was to be a galley boy on an oil tanker, just after the Middle East Crisis.
The noble Lord, Lord Desai, spoke of the Middle East Crisis starting in the 1940s or 1950s.
There is an enormous Crisis in the Middle East, with ISIS/Daesh and the other factors at play - not to mention the Russians - and the interaction between all that and the peace and stability we all earnestly wish for.
It would be unthinkable that there would not be such interaction at a diplomatic level, given the importance of Iran in the Whole Middle East Crisis we are experiencing at the moment - all the documents, the involvement of the United Nations Security Council, which endorsed it on20 July, and the interaction with not only our own Prime Minister but the President of France and Chancellor Merkel, who put out a statement in September 2015.
With the economic situation that the world faces at the moment, and with the geopolitical situation that we face in Europe with Putin on our doorstep and the Crisis in the Middle East, is this the right moment toleave?