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This unassuming waterfront town is a centuries-old hand at hosting momentous events: the formal end of the Revolutionary War, George Washington ceding military authority to civilian rule, Teddy Roosevelt greeting a French fleet that brought John Paul Jones' remains.</p>
<p>Then again, it doesn't take more than a boat show in October or a Navy football game to turn Maryland's quaint capital into a miserable parking lot....
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ISSUE: - Annapolis is a centuries-old hand at hosting momentous events: the formal end of the Revolutionary War; George Washington ceding military authority to civilian rule; Teddy Roosevelt greeting a French fleet that brought John Paul Jones' remains.</p>
<p>Then again, it doesn't take more than the October boat shows or a Navy football game to turn the city into a miserable parking lot.</p>
<p>So it was with both pride and a touch of nervousness that Maryland's capital reacted to news that the Naval Academy might be the site of a Mideast peace conference - and the attendant media hordes - in November....
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<p>It'd be great to have that the same week/end as the CVW and Parents open forum, admissions banquet, etc...</p>
<p>:p</p>
<p>Wonder if they will serve the dignitaries the same chicken cheesesteak sandwiches they served us on FPW? Now THAT might get us some change!:)</p>
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The Bush administration pressured Israeli and Palestinian leaders yesterday to lay the groundwork for an Annapolis peace conference, with the president saying he was "optimistic" that talks brokered by the U.S. could lead to the creation of a Palestinian state.</p>
<p>"This is going to be a serious and substantive meeting," Bush told reporters in his first news conference since disclosure that officials hope to hold a meeting at the Naval Academy in late November to revive the Mideast peace process.</p>
<p>The president's comments came as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, concluding a round of shuttle diplomacy in the Middle East, appeared to lower expectations for such a meeting....
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Annapolis is a city in waiting</p>
<p>Hotels are bracing for an influx of dignitaries; city planners are mulling traffic patterns; and local businesses are anxiously awaiting new customers from the Middle East peace summit sought by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.</p>
<p>The big challenge?</p>
<p>There's no word yet on when the summit will take place, or even if, or how many people to expect if it does....
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<p>Upcoming Peace Conference in Annapolis Will Launch Negotiations</p>
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Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that he believes the path to peace with Israel is now open and that a Palestinian state can be achieved before the end of the Bush administration in January 2009. </p>
<p>Echoing a near-identical statement made Sunday night by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Abbas said that an upcoming peace conference in Annapolis would launch negotiations over core issues in the conflict--the status of Jerusalem, the physical borders of a Palestinian state, the removal of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the fate of Palestinian refugees who left their homes at the time of the 1948 war that established the Israeli state....
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<p>For crying out loud! :mad:</p>
<p>Can't these worthless diplomats hold this conference in WASHINGTON? Why does it have to be Annapolis? Do they just want the photo op or do they really dig crab?</p>
<p>Sheesh. I really feel sorry for the Mids. Between security, the media (having them around is like asking a pyromaniac to hold your cigarette......... on an oil tanker), the crowding, the traffic........ UGH!</p>
<p>But hey, we can't disturb the bureaucrats over at the State Department for this. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I just hope it goes through this time. The last time we were this close, Yassir Arafat (that great and non-violent Nobel-Prize-winning champion of peace and international brotherhood) walked out because he didn't get 5% of what he had wanted. :(</p>
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Can't these worthless diplomats hold this conference in WASHINGTON? Why does it have to be Annapolis?
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<p>Exactly my thoughts when I first heard about it. What ever happened to Camp David? Afraid of the "Carter legacy" or as you say, pick a site in Washington. I have to believe the secret service and everyone else tasked with securing that area will be having a fit; land, air and water approaches... Traffic/crowding issues aside, I have to believe in choosing such a location they just made the security side of the equation many times harder than it had to be. Hope there was a good reason. </p>
<p>As you say; I hope something good comes of it, lord knows they've been trying to kill each other long enough.</p>
<p>Not sure if fact or fiction, however the skuttlebutt is that if the conference is, indeed, held in Annapolis, the Mids will be given extra time off (attached to thanksgiving leave?)..... the time to be "made up" by shortening mid-winter break. I guess we will all know when we need to.</p>
<p>That could mess up a lot of travel plans. Pre purchased Airline tickets etc.. Then again, why worry about Mid (family) travel expenses vs Photo Op.</p>
<p>^^^^ semper gumby!</p>
<p>That's easy to say when it doesn't take $1300.00 and a day of travel to get a mid home, WITH advance planning. Reminds me of plebe year when our son's summer training was changed, and they tried to call him 24 hours in advance, but he was already on the plane. Happened twice. Cost us an extra $1200.00 flying him back and forth. This is probably just speculation (at least I hope so!). What I'm worried about is that it is supposed to happen over Service Selection. I don't think they could take having that delayed! :)</p>
<p>If this happens over service selection then we better hope people attached to the conference are not out late, because... yeah, they'll be in for an experience</p>
<p>Rather than obsess, has anyone called or written to USNA to ask about the possibility? I feel the rumor mill cranking into full frenzy...</p>
<p>I don't think anything has been decided as of yet. No doubt the Mids will know just prior to us knowing.... and that all depends on Washington and "guests" ..... </p>
<p>momof1- I sympathize!!!!!!! That is one heck of a trip back home!!!</p>
<p>Mayor says planning continues despite unconfirmed details; police working on security</p>
<p>Rumors</a> fly over Mideast summit in Annapolis -- baltimoresun.com</p>
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Annapolis is clinging to rumors and tidbits about a Mideast peace conference that is supposed to take place in the historic state capital.</p>
<p>It's just that no one knows exactly when it will be.</p>
<p>The city has learned the summit is likely to be one day -- not two days long as previously rumored. City officials also have heard from protesters who want to demonstrate but don't know when to arrive....
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By pushing Israel to accept immediate negotiations with the Palestinians on the thorny final status issues, with the aim to conclude a peace settlement within a year, the Bush administration is trying to attract a significant Arab presence at the peace conference in Annapolis, Md.</p>
<p>The meeting in Annapolis, now penciled in to start Nov. 26 and last less than 24 hours, is meant to begin and bless negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders on a final peace agreement between them, ostensibly to be completed by the end of the Bush presidency....
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<p>Peace</a> talks shrink to 1 day -- baltimoresun.com</p>
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A White House-sponsored conference on Middle East peace is to be held in Annapolis next Tuesday, with senior representatives from Arab and European capitals expected to attend in support of Israeli and Palestinian leaders, a U.S. official familiar with planning for the event said yesterday.</p>
<p>The date of the event had been an open secret for weeks, but officials have yet to formally announce it. A conference schedule is expected to be unveiled in Washington today, along with a list of those who will attend the one-day meeting....
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<p>^^^^ thanks for the intel GA!!! </p>
<p>Any news as to the impact on the Brigade, or will it be "business as usual?"</p>