Al Gore and the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are co-winners of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize “for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change”.

What a shame that the Nobel committee chose to make a political statement instead of honoring true advocates for peace or individuals who advanced causes that promote peace.

Why did the Nobel committee not award the prize to the Buddhist monks who are being brutalized and killed for their efforts to promote human rights and democratic reforms in Myanmar (Burma)? The international recognition and prize money alone would have given their peaceful efforts a much stronger voice. Instead the Nobel committee chose to honor an environmental hypocrite whose work does not reflect a balanced view of science. Shame on them!

Today I had the chance to participate in a very interesting teleconference sponsored by The Israel Project with former Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Dore Gold. Amb. Gold was Israel’s 11th ambassador to the United Nations (1997-1999) and is a leading expert on the Middle East and U.S. foreign policy. Amb. Gold is currently president of Israel’s Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA).

The threat posed by Iran was the dominant topic of Abm. Gold’s remarks. He made several main points including:

• Iran is attempting to project it’s power over the Middle East, Europe and ultimately beyond to directly confront the United States.
• Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should be held accountable for promoting genocide in threatening to “wipe Israel off the map.”
• Sunni Arab states now face a clear threat from Iran — with the increase of Sunni power in Iraq and the direct and indirect influence of Iran (using proxy groups), there is now a “Shiite crecent” emerging that threatens Jordan and other Sunni nations.
• With Shiites in Iraq and the Taliban in Afganistan no longer threatening Iran, they can now pour the majority of their military budget into missile programs, weapons of mass destruction, and their navy.
• Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is part of an Islamic cult actively trying to accelerate the “end of days” by ushering in an apocalyptic moment.
• Stabilization of the Middle East requires the neutralization of radical Islam — Iran is the major source of instability in the region.
• Israel must maintain defensible borders — especially in the Jordan Valley where a pullout would be disastrous for the region.

Amb. Gold was foreign policy advisor to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is a two-time New York Times best-selling author. Amb. Gold also served as an advisor to former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and was a member of the Israeli delegation at the 1998 Wye River negotiations between Israel and the PLO. In 1991, he was an advisor to the Israeli delegation to the Madrid Peace Conference.