It is all the more devastating that a nation that embodies the misery of the ghetto has created one for a people it fears and, for many in the country, demonises. Geopolitics under Bush and Blair has been an utter disaster, and even now, despite the Iraq Study Group and its findings, Blair continues to follow his master's voice and therefore his trip aborad achieved nothing.

There are tears of frustration for the whole region. Incidents where border guards behave no better than Nazi zealots. Families and communities that nurse grudges and vendettas, blind to the acts of kindness and compassion. People who fear capitulating to the other means being attacked by their own (literally) or becoming part of the disenfranchised deprived easy access to food, medicines and the things of infrastructure that many in the "modern" world take for granted.

No one group is without blame. No one group has the moral high ground. All are victims. Even the perpetrators of violent acts (whether that be suicide bombers or zealous border guards).

Communities and societies that turn a blind eye to the violence perpetrated by those within their approved factions. No mechanisms for justice, no accountability for "crossing the line" into unacceptable behaviours.

Squabbling, bickering, posturing, corruption, idolatry, vanity, gibberish, censorship, cruelty, viciousness, callousness, lack of faith, lack of integrity, lack of hope. Duck shoving.

Higher walls, more sophisticated violence, increasing propoganda is not improving the situation. It merely condemns souls for colluding to perpetuate violent and hateful thinking and misconduct.

God cries.

The only hope is for those who can look to a vision of a future beyond where they are now. Who can envisage being able to live with "the other" and understand that at some point the brutality must stop before the healing can really begin. At some point leaders must take responsibility for reducing and disciplining those who advocate hate and do harmful acts.

These are lessons not just for the Middle East. The same lessons apply to the Anglican Communion. And there is the same vacuum at the leadership level; which is why there is the parallel in dynamics.

I haven't even had a sherry but am discombobulated by Rowan Williams' remarks. The US and Britain invade Iraq, and local Islamofascists murder or drive out Christian Arab citizens (along with untold numbers of Muslims), so it's "our" fault? I need to go lie down ...

Who else, dear Steve?

Literally millions of people all over God's Earth took to the streets to say that this was Evil and wrong.

It was the first World wide expression of opinion.

Didn't impress the perpetrators very much, did it?

Comments such as that of Steve Watson are really so unhelpful - talk about pouring petrol on the flames.

I don't think there is any obvious solution to the situation. Having Christians speak in that sort of way is not going to bring one forward - given that both sides will need to compromise and that appears very much off the agenda at present.

"I haven't even had a sherry but am discombobulated by Rowan Williams' remarks. The US and Britain invade Iraq, and local Islamofascists murder or drive out Christian Arab citizens (along with untold numbers of Muslims), so it's "our" fault? I need to go lie down ..." Steve

I've not had a drink of anything stronger than flavored water for 28 years (I previously over did *it* a tad)...and my mind is boggled with this NONSENSE too...when will real/contemporary SPIRITUAL LEADERS (personally I wouldn't include Pope JPII or Lord Carey, Jerry Falwell and their bigot chums) with popular support (mostly, even if that support is hi-and-miss/run) put themselves in a closed ASSEMBLY HALL (and not come out until they find common ground for PEACE to force feed politicians) and work this deadly junk out! Obviously serious Godly work can't be assigned to bigots and thieves (no matter how righeously they present themselves)!

Leonardo commented "...serious Godly work can't be assigned to bigots and thieves..."

I was thinking about this theme yesterday and thinking that the greedy and self-righteous and power mongerers can not lead us into peace. They will only accept peace if they are in ascendancy. But when conflict comes from at least two major players (and in many parts of the world it is more a scramble to work out who the major players are at any one point), then peace can not come through military victory. Because at least one, and often more than one, can not be ascendancy.

My son's soccer team is near the bottom of the ranking. But they are the happiest team to play. We clap when the other team scores a goal, we hoot when our own kids get one (we feel like it is a miracle). Our kids come off the field smiling when the score is only 1 or 2 down, elated when it is a draw, and they even got a win the other week.

As a team, every parent has had to talk to their children about playing a game when they have no hope of being the winning team. Every child understands that in any game that has only one winner, that means there are an awful lot of losers.

Our boys come to the field every week, we have a remarkably high attendance and not one child has dropped out. They finish nearly every game with a big smile on their face. Because they have enjoyed playing the game.

There is an expression. "Life is about the journey, not the destination."

We need leaders who can help humanity enjoy the journey, not tell humanity and creation to put their lives on hold until they get to the destination. The latter kind of leaders are complacent and cruel, negligent of their current responsibilities and incapable of creating a vision that sees beyond their ego or the now. We need transgenerational inclusive visioning; not posturing or cruel puritanical bullying desecrators.

This is the central problem, isn't it. As everyone gets behind their own stockade, and regionalism, nationalism and religious extremism develop, what happens is that a group of clerics dressed in black go and support the Christians. Now, on the one hand, that is comfort for them, but on the other, it is more of the same stockade, like everyone keeps digging furiously. Rowan Williams' words are, as ever, a bit of this and a bit of that, with the criticism of Western policy picked up (rightly so) but indeed religion by some in those parts is one nasty affair.

The only thing that will clear it is a change of policy by the West, to let some steam out and cool things (recognising huge failures and sensitivities trampled on, and tackling injusticies), and for these religious leaders some big interfaith efforts to join hands and isolate if possible the Islamo-fascists and Judaism-extremists and Christian-rightists of all the various kinds.