Annapolis

Annapolis is a little gem of a town and is the capital of Maryland. It is a historic place, which was founded in 1649 as the first port on the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore, which is further north, subsequently became more prominent. It was named in honor of Princess (later Queen) Anne of Britain. The Maryland Capitol or State House in Annapolis has the last remaining wooden dome of a Capitol in the USA (built 1772-1780). It was in this building before the Continental Congress that George Washington resigned as General of the Continental Army in 1783, thus avoiding making the USA a military dictatorship and paving the way for democracy. It was also here that the Treaty of Paris ending the War of Independence was signed in 1784.
The US Naval Academy is in Annapolis and was founded in response to the need for the US to have its own navy when it became independent and was no longer protected by the British Navy. In fact, the first reason for this was the capture by Barbary pirates from Algiers, Tunis and Morrocco of three US merchant ships and the treatment of their crews as slaves. Since the US could not afford to pay the huge ransom demanded, Congress authorized the formation of a navy to go and release them and to prevent further depredations. That's why it says in the US marine's anthem, "From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli."
Since we lived in Maryland, we often enjoyed visiting Annapolis and taking a spin around the Bay. Who could predict that the fate of Israel might one day be decided there, so improbable. As to the Conference, some 35 nations might attend, including several Arab nations, as well as the Quartet of the US, UN, EU and Russia. When it comes to the Middle East everyone wants to get in on the act, and to take as much credit as they can for achieving "Muddle East peace."
Since Israel will be so outnumbered, PM Olmert is trying to play it safe, first emphasizing that only a non-binding Declaration of Principles will be signed by Israel at the Conference. On the other hand, this is the first time that Israel has serious and anti-terrorist Palestinian leaders, in Pres Abbas and PM Fayyad, who are intent on reaching some kind of mutual agreement. For Israel, the price may be too high, including ceding some land to make up for any part of the West Bank retained, and dividing Jerusalem into Jewish and Arab neighborhoods. The upside of this is that the Palestinian side will be required to explicitly recognize Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem and elsewhere. It will be difficult for other Arab nations to be more demanding than the Palestinians themselves, although Hamas in Gaza and its sponsors, Iran and Syria, will play the spoilers, remaining outside the process. So in a few weeks Annapolis will become the focus of the world's attention and our fate may well be determined there.