Words worth remembering

Larry King, on his Tuesday night edition of "Larry King Live," on CNN, got some interesting, and potentially smart words from Jordan's Queen Noor and retired U.S. statesman George Mitchell on the ongoing mess in the Middle East.

That segment is worth having around to read again. And maybe again...

Thank you Larry --

Your Majesty, are you more confident today than yesterday?

QUEEN NOOR: Oh, I'm an optimist by nature, like my husband. It's been tested sorely over these last years. I do believe that all hope is never lost. And as I have emphasized before, I think that it's vital that we recommit to resolving a just and comprehensive peace that will resolve and end occupation, that will deal with the refugees, that will resolve and end occupation, that will deal with the refugees, that will bring the parties together to listen to one another, to engage in a mutually respectful dialogue no matter what the histories, because there is an ugly history on all sides in this conflict. And to remember that 50 percent of the population in our region is under the age of 18, 70 percent under the age of 30. We must look to these generations, these coming generations. Israelis and Arabs and Americans must consider what Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein did. What are they leaving to the next generation? Are they going to leave this bankrupted approach and vicious cycle of violence, or are they going to try something new? And that means working together.

KING: Thank you so much. Your Majesty, Queen Noor, the widow of King Hussein of Jordan.

And George Mitchell, I want to ask you one question about Castro. Can peace break out here, George?

MITCHELL: You mean in Castro or...

KING: No, no, no, I'll get to Castro in a second. The Middle East. Can peace break out?

MITCHELL: Yes, it can. Yes, it can, Larry. I was just thinking as I heard some of the other comments. This is an ancient conflict. It's gone on for a long time. The British domination of Ireland lasted 800 years. Today, there is a free and vibrant Republic of Ireland. It has excellent relations with the United Kingdom. There remains the problem of Northern Ireland, still a serious issue, but one that hopefully -- where the war is over and progress will continue to be made.

So no matter how ancient the conflict, no matter how much hurt has been done, it can be ended and peace can break out.