Life rarely gives you second chances. But if handled deftly, the Arab Peace Initiative (API), discussed yesterday at a Blair House meeting between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and an assembled group of Arab foreign ministers, could help form the basis of a serious reconstituted peace process. The delegation came to Washington under the guise of the Arab Peace Initiative Follow-up Committee -- a group charged with securing acceptance of the API by Israel and others.   

The API was proposed over a decade ago by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah at a 2002 Arab League Summit in Beirut that convened amidst raging Israeli-Palestinian violence. Endorsed by the Arab League, the proposal offered Israel the prospect of peace, security, and normal relations -- a goal Israel has sought since its independence in 1948. In return, the Arabs called on Israel to agree to a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital. 

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Mounting anti-Ikhwan sentiment inside and outside Egypt has become indisputable. The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) government's poor performance coupled with its political arrogance and immaturity have irritated many Egyptians and alarmed western policymakers. However, the crucial question is: Does it really matter? Does the MB take their critics seriously? More importantly, how will this anti-Ikhwanism play out with the internal politics of the MB?

The MB doesn't seem to be much concerned with the growing resentment against its rule. The movement is chiefly preoccupied by grabbing as much power as it can and its leaders don't give much attention to the allegation that their popularity is waning.

Moreover, President Mohamed Morsi tends to ignore, disdain, or threaten the opposition's leaders, which he believes are attempting to undermine his rule. For him, as long as MB support is secure, nothing should be worrying. Not surprisingly, since taking power, Morsi has shown no sign of disentanglement between the presidency and the MB. His discourse and policy are still much attached to the MB's ideology and leadership. 

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U.S. officials have stated they believe that the Syrian government has used chemicals weapons, which may bring into question President Barack Obama's "red line" on Syria. In a letter to congressional leaders on Thursday, the White House stated that U.S. intelligence agencies assessed "with varying degrees of confidence" that the regime of Bashar al-Assad had used the chemical agent sarin gas on a small scale. Several officials went further to say that the intelligence agencies expressed medium to high confidence of their assessment. According to officials, the assessment was based on tests from soil samples and blood drawn from people who had been injured in the attacks in March near Aleppo and Damascus. The White House, however, is treading cautiously and said that "given the stakes involved" it would need "credible and corroborated facts" before Obama would take action. During his visit to Jerusalem last month, Obama said that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be a "game changer" for U.S. involvement. U.S. administration officials said that the Pentagon has prepared a variety of options intended to secure chemical weapons stockpiles. A White House official said, "all options are on the table in terms of our response." The United States is joining Israel, France, and Britain in suggesting that the Assad regime has deployed chemical weapons. British Prime Minister David Cameron said there is "limited but growing evidence" that government forces have used chemical weapons, adding that "It is extremely serious, this is a war crime." 

Headlines  

• The Israeli military reported Thursday it shot down a drone off its northern coast near the border with Lebanon, bringing suspicions upon Hezbollah, which has denied responsibility.
• Iraqi soldiers have retaken the Sunni town of Suleiman Beg after gunmen retreated; meanwhile a roadside bomb killed four people outside a Sunni mosque in southern Baghdad, in four days of escalated violence.
• After nearly three decades of fighting, which has caused the deaths of about 40,000 people, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has said it will withdraw from Turkey beginning May 8.
• Jerusalem's district court ruled Thursday that women could not be arrested for praying at the Western Wall wearing prayer shawls, a practice Orthodox Jews say is reserved for men.
• Egypt's Pope Tawdros II, in his first interview since eight people were killed earlier this month in Muslim and Christian sectarian violence, said the Muslim Brotherhood led government is neglecting Christians. 
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Church sources in Aleppo and Damascus said the two bishops abducted on Monday remain missing, despite reports they had been freed. Armed militants reportedly seized Yohanna Ibrahim, head of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Aleppo and Boulou Yaziji, leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in Aleppo, in a contested area of northern Aleppo. Syrian officials have blamed a "terrorist group" while opposition fighters have denied any involvement, claiming they are working to find the bishops who are the most senior Christian figures yet to be caught up in the Syrian war. A Christian advocacy group and Al Jazeera reported Ibrahim and Yaziji were released on Tuesday, however later on, Abdel-Ahad Steifo, a Syriac member of the Syrian opposition, told Al Jazeera the bishops were still being held by their abductors. A source from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Damascus also said there was no indication of their release. Meanwhile, U.S. officials said that investigations have yet to produce conclusive evidence to confirm Israel's claims that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons. Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, Israel's senior military intelligence analyst, has cited photographic and other forms of evidence of the use of chemical weapons. However, White House spokesman Jay Carney stated, "We have not come to the conclusion that there has been that use." The Syrian regime has prevented a U.N. investigation into the alleged chemical weapons use. Soil samples were reportedly smuggled into Britain and suggested "some use of chemical weapons," however there was no evidence of who might have employed them.

Headlines

• An estimated 15 people have been killed in Iraq on Wednesday, including 12 security forces and gunmen, in apparent retaliation for Tuesday's raid by security forces on a Sunni protest camp.
• U.N. special rapporteur on violence Juan Mendez has expressed "deep disappointment" over what he said was "effectively a cancellation" of his trip to Bahrain, just days after a U.S. State Department report on human rights violations in the Gulf country was released.
• In hearings in Canada on Tuesday, Chiheb Esseghaier and Raed Jaser denied involvement in a plot to derail a train which officials say had support from al Qaeda in Iran.
• U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Egypt on Wednesday for talks that are expected to focus on preserving strong ties with the Egyptian military. 
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France's embassy in Tripoli, Libya's capital, was hit Tuesday by what appeared to be a car bomb, wounding two French guards and several residents. The explosion destroyed the reception area of the embassy on the ground-floor and the perimeter wall, as well as nearby homes and shops. A French embassy official said, "We think it was a booby trapped car." French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said deaths and greater injury were avoided because the explosion occurred before embassy staff would have been arriving for work in the morning. French President Francois Hollande condemned the attack and said, "France expects the Libyan authorities to shed light on this unacceptable act so that the authors are identified and brought to justice." No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the first on a diplomatic mission in the city since the ouster of Muammar al-Qaddafi. Other similar attacks have been primarily in the eastern city of Benghazi, such as the September 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate.

Syria

Gunmen in an opposition held area of northern Syria have abducted two Christian bishops. Yohanna Ibrahim, head of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Aleppo and Boulou Yaziji, leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in Aleppo, were reportedly kidnapped when they were doing "humanitarian work in Aleppo countryside," according to Syrian State TV. A member of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, Abdulahad Steifo, said the two men were abducted on the road to Aleppo from the opposition held Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey. While several prestigious Muslim clerics have been killed since the uprising in Syria began over two years ago, these are the most senior Christian leaders to be caught up in the conflict. Meanwhile, Israel's senior military intelligence analyst, Brig. Gen. Itai Brun, made a statement Tuesday that Syrian government forces have used chemical weapons. Brun's comments came a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, while visiting Israel, said U.S. intelligence agencies were still investigating suspected chemical weapons use in attacks on March 19 near Damascus and Aleppo. Brun said, "To the best of our understanding, there was use of lethal chemical weapons. Which chemical weapons? Probably sarin." On Monday, Hagel said the use of chemical weapons by Syrian forces would be a "game changer."

Headlines

• A raid by Iraqi security forces on a camp in Hawija of Sunni anti-government protesters early Tuesday sparked clashes, killing at least 23 people, however reports are conflicting.
• Iran has denied ties to al Qaeda after Canadian police claimed a planned attack on a passenger train was linked to an al Qaeda group in Iranian territory. 
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Iraqis voted Saturday in provincial elections in the first polling since the withdrawal of U.S. troops in December 2011. While violence has increased since the beginning of the year and over a dozen candidates (mostly Sunnis) were killed prior to the election, polling went without any major incidents. However, turnout was low with only about 50 percent of Iraqis coming out to cast their ballots, and many Iraqis expressed frustration, apathy, or disgust toward the emerging political elite. About 8,138 candidates are competing for 447 provincial council seats. However, not all of Iraq's provinces planned on participating in Saturday's election, and two largely Sunni provinces were prevented from voting due to a security risk posed by anti-Maliki protesters, according to the Shiite-led cabinet. According to Iraqi officials, preliminary results from the election may be released Wednesday. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition is expected to perform well.

Syria

Syrian opposition activists reported a "massacre" in a Damascus suburb on Sunday. After five days of fierce fighting in Jdaidet al-Fadl, a strategic town near a Syrian military base between Daraa and Damascus, at least 80 people were estimated killed, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, including three children and six women. However, the death toll is expected to be much higher as bodies were difficult to identify. According to the opposition Local Coordination Committees (LCC) at least 450 bodies were found in the town, about 300 of whom were civilians and 150 members of the Free Syrian Army. Syria's state news agency SANA said government forces "inflicted big losses on terrorists in Jdaidet al Fadl and destroyed weapons and ammunition and killed and wounded members of the terrorist groups." On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced $123 million in U.S. assistance to Syrian opposition forces, including non-lethal military equipment.

Headlines

• Egypt's Justice Minister Ahmed Mekki resigned Sunday over pressure from both Muslim Brotherhood supporters wanting to "cleanse" the judiciary and opposition activists accusing him of abandoning reform.
• Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel won Sunday's Grand Prix in Bahrain amid limited protests and heavy security.
• Kuwait has granted bail for former MP and popular opposition leader Mussallam al-Barrack, who was sentenced to five years in prison for insulting the emir.
• According to Iranian media, a new round of talks on Iran's disputed nuclear program is planned with the International Atomic Energy Agency for May 21, but the date has not been confirmed. 
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Heavy clashes have continued across Bahrain between anti-government protesters and security forces ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix set for Sunday. Bahrain's main opposition society al-Wefaq has called for major protests to be held Friday. Pro-democracy groups have demanded the race be canceled over the kingdom's poor human rights record and slow pace of reform. Bahrain's crown prince, Prince Salman bin Hamad Isa Al Khalifa, has admitted his country is "not perfect" but insists progress is being made, and that "we are in a much better position than last year." He urged Bahrainis not to politicize the race. F1A President Jean Todt, said in an email, it is "our firm belief that sports, and the F1 Grand Prix, can have a positive and healing effect in situations where conflict, social unrest and tensions are causing distress." On Friday in a joint statement, F1's chief executive and commercial-rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone maintained that Bahrain is a safe place to race and said the event will go on as scheduled.

Syria

The United Nations Security Council has reached agreement on a non-binding statement on the Syrian conflict, after the prodding of U.N. humanitarian officials who have said the war has sparked a humanitarian catastrophe. In a U.N. Security Council briefing, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, and Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Valerie Amos, said 25 percent of Syria's population of 22 million people is internally displaced, and 1.3 million people have fled the country. Amos appealed to the U.N. Security Council to approve cross-border relief operations to address humanitarian needs inside Syria. The security council has been deadlocked since the beginning of Syria's uprising in March 2011, but reached a rare consensus issuing the statement saying, "The escalating violence is completely unacceptable and must end immediately," continuing that it "urged all parties to ensure safe and unimpeded access for aid organizations to those in need in all areas of Syria." Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence agencies are investigating what some U.S. officials believe to be the first credible indications that chemical weapons have been used in fighting in Syria. According to four senior U.S. officials, witness accounts and preliminary testing of samples from Syria have increased suspicions that Syrian forces have used chemical agents. However, other U.S. officials are skeptical, concerned that Syrian opposition forces could have tainted the samples.

Headlines  

• An estimated 32 people were killed and 65 others wounded in a suicide bombing inside a busy café in Iraq's capital Baghdad Thursday night ahead of the April 20 provincial elections.
• The U.S. Defense Department is expected to announce next week a $10 billion arms deal with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, as a means to counter Iranian threats.
-- By Mary Casey

Sudan and South Sudan reached a deal in the early hours of March 12, after a week of negotiations in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, which should spark the beginning of exports of South Sudanese oil from Sudan's Port Sudan, on the Red Sea coast, for the first time in more than 15 months. Companies are already gearing up for production from the oil-rich states of Unity and Upper Nile in the north of South Sudan, and the first shipments of oil are due to be made by the end of May. Yet although the resumption of oil will bring the first meaningful income to South Sudan since early 2012, as well as help ease a severe economic crisis north of the border, there is still a feeling that what has been left undone by the deal is just as significant as what has been achieved. 

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Since its first running in 2004, the Bahrain Grand Prix has been a mainstay of the country's complex political calendar. Indeed, controversy brewed well before a single race could take place, with critics decrying the expense of constructing the vast Bahrain International Circuit even as many citizens struggled to find jobs, housing, and affordable land. At the same time, the track's isolation in the far south of the island -- well, as far south as one can go before hitting military fences -- fed the notion that the race, hosted not far from Sakhir Palace, was conceived mostly as a diversion for society's elite, and aptly demonstrated the misplaced social and economic priorities of the ruling family.

As such, the Formula One event consistently has been the occasion for popular protest and violence, giving the impression that the event is but a microcosm of Bahrain's larger opposition-government divide, with the latter pursuing self-serving policies while ordinary Bahrainis try in vain to effect meaningful change. 

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Commentators have offered numerous theories for what caused the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions and who participated in them. They range from youth and their chronic unemployment, to liberal activists and their demands for civil rights, to workers and absolute levels of material deprivation. Stories of individual participants and analyses of specific groups taking part in the uprisings have provided much insight into this question, but only a representative sample of participants can help weigh the importance of different factors driving protesters. The latest wave of the Arab Barometer, a nationally representative survey administered in the wake of the protests, provides some answers. 

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Syrian opposition activists have accused the government of committing a massacre they say was motivated by revenge. The attack was allegedly in Sanamayn, a town on the strategic highway betweenDamascus, Syria's capital, and the southern city of Daraa. According to the British based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Syrian forces began indiscriminately shelling and shooting in the town on Wednesday, destroying at least 20 houses and killing at least 45 people. One activist claimed some victims had been "summarily executed or stabbed or burned." However, the reports have not been verified. Other violence was reported across Syria including in Homs and Damascus, and according to Syrian activists, a regime aid convoy was ambushed near the suburbs of Hama. Between 125 and 149 people are estimated to have been killed Thursday. Meanwhile, a western diplomat said there is "hard evidence" that chemical weapons were used at least once in the Syrian conflict. The Syrian government requested a U.N. investigation into alleged chemical weapons in Aleppo province in March, but the assembled team of inspectors has been denied access.

Headlines

• The United States has slapped sanctions on an Iranian businessman, a Malaysian bank, and a network of companies for providing support to the National Iranian Oil Company.
• An Israeli court ruled that five "Women of the Wall" detained Thursday were not disturbing the peace, as Israel works to ease tensions between Orthodox and more progressive Jewish worshippers.
• Egypt's Shura Council approved a revised election law on Thursday for parliamentary polls expected later this year. The law has been sent to the Supreme Constitutional Court for approval.
• Twin bombings in Iraq hit outside a Sunni mosque in Kanaan, about 47 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing an estimated 14 people, as violence persists a week ahead of provincial elections.
• Tunisia has recovered $29 million it says was "stolen" by ousted President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, which was reportedly held in his wife's Lebanese bank account.
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A two-day conference at the University of Bahrain in the capital Manama last week was intended to show the United States and the region that the Bahraini government is making progress toward democratic governance and addressing the grievances of the country's majority Shiite population. But the discussions were less than convincing because there was no empirical data or other direct evidence to support the participants' claims.

Many participants -- Bahraini academics, some government officials, and even U.S. congressmen -- declared that there has been real progress in the ongoing national dialogue, which began anew this winter between the government and factions within the opposition. The majority Shiite opposition is demanding political and economic rights. The dialogue first began in the spring of 2011, after an uprising by the Shiite-led dominated opposition erupted, and has come and gone since then. [BREAK]]

At the conference, while participating on a panel about Bahrain's political situation, I asked several participants to describe in detail the progress they were referring to between the government and the opposition. None of them provided any substantive answers. After the conference was over, I checked in with a few opposition leaders who told me that there have been approximately 10 sessions with relatively low-level government participation, but the government has offered no concessions to meet the opposition's demands and the dialogue has been virtually ineffective.

A second topic that dominated the conference involved whether opposition groups, such as al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, has close ties to, or is even manipulated by, Iran. The consensus was that the group takes orders from Iran when organizing demonstrations against the Bahraini government; some participants even accused some Shiite opposition factions of attempting to establish an Iranian-style theocracy in Bahrain with a cleric as the head of state. At least one participant claimed the opposition was collaborating with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards to try to overthrow the Bahraini government.

Congressman Dan Burton, a Republican from Indiana, and former diplomat John Bolton chimed in to warn of the Iranian threat. "Iran is trying to undermine the government of Bahrain and we need to make sure Iran's aims are not achieved," Burton said. Bolton warned that the threat from Iran is not only Tehran's potential to develop a nuclear weapon, but "the regime has made it clear it aims for hegemony" in the region. A Bahraini participant said he did not blame al-Wefaq for its actions because it "gets its instructions from Iran."

There is little doubt that for more than 30 years Shiite Iran has tried to assert its influence through military force and soft power throughout the Middle East. And nearly every week, leading figures in Iran, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, chastise the Bahraini government for its repression of its Shiite population and call for the regime to be toppled. And true, there were attempted, but failed, coups plotted by Iranian agents in the 1990s against the Bahraini government.

But to date, there is no evidence -- at least based upon public information and my own research of the country -- that Iran is working to topple the Bahraini government, even though Tehran would welcome a change in Manama. A member of the royal family agreed with me that a distinction needs to be made between Iran's direct intervention in countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen, and its indirect influence in Bahrain. For example, Iranian state-owned media broadcasts its programming into Bahrain on an estimated 30 media outlets in Arabic. The message is generally that the Sunni Bahraini government represses the Shiite population, and Iran is the guardian of all Shiites. 

A distinction should also be made between Iran's religious influence on the Arab Shiites, not only in Bahrain but across the Arab world, and its political influence. Many Shiites, including some in Bahrain, follow the teachings of clerics in Iran as well as those in Lebanon and Iraq.

In addition, even if Iran were trying to destabilize Bahrain, this has nothing to do with the grievances of the opposition. The Bahraini government should not try to cast aside the legitimate demands of the opposition by playing the card of the Iranian threat. If the Bahraini government wants to convince Washington and the region that reforms are underway, officials should provide details instead of focusing on Iran, which only sidelines this discussion.

As part of an attempt to show the Bahraini government is enacting reforms in order to address the marginalization of the Shiites, conference participants stated that most of the 24 recommendations in the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), an over 500-page report authored by the renowned international law expert, Cherif Bassiouni, have been implemented. In fact, Congressman Burton said that 18 of the recommendations have been enforced, but he did not say where he got his information.

The BICI report, issued in November 2011, confirmed that thousands of people were detained and tortured during the heat of the uprising in 2011, and some were killed by government security forces. The report also confirmed that many Shiite had been removed from their jobs for discriminatory reasons. The report called for sweeping reforms, including a restructuring of the police and security forces, an independent media (which in Bahrain is controlled by the state), and an end to repression.

Looking for confirmation on Burton's statement, I asked at the conference if anyone knew which of the BICI recommendations have been implemented. According to U.S.-based human rights organizations -- which have been very vocal about Bahrain's reluctance to take the report seriously -- only a handful of the 24 recommendations have been implemented.

There is much talk these days in Washington of progress between the Bahraini government and opposition groups toward reaching reconciliation. The promotion of the crown prince, considered the reformer in the family, to deputy prime minister has made some in the United States hopeful that the reform process will pick up speed.

Stability in Bahrain is of great importance to the United States. Manama is the home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, whose presence in the Gulf ensures the flow of oil and other energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway connecting the Gulf to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Because of significant U.S. strategic and economic interests in a stable Bahrain, the Obama administration has declined to adopt a hard line on the Bahraini government's human rights abuses and institutionalized discrimination.

If the conference was any guide, the Bahraini political elites do not want to be perceived as presiding over a repressive state. Therefore, the moderates within the Bahrain government -- those in the crown prince's inner circle -- should seize upon the moment and push for reform. This would be far more effective at improving Bahrain's image and showing a commitment to reform than conferences in which there is little or no talk about addressing the grievances of the opposition.

Geneive Abdo, a fellow at the Stimson Center and a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, is the author of the forthcoming, The New Sectarianism: The Arab Uprisings and the Rebirth of the Shi'a-Sunni Divide, to be published in April by Brookings.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are essential to democracy and a key way for people of all political views to band together to influence public debate. But once more, the Egyptian government is threatening to restrict NGOs that receive foreign funds. Exercised about criticism from some of these groups, the ruling party is pushing a bill that would empower the government to decide which groups are allowed to receive foreign funding. That would invite the government to pick favorites, approving foreign funds for lapdogs while rejecting them for critics, particularly human rights groups.

But why are foreign funds so nefarious when received by NGOs yet apparently uncontroversial when received by others? The Egyptian military receives billions of dollars in aid from the United States; does that make it a subversive organization? The Egyptian government is desperately seeking foreign funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF); is that an act of treason? Egyptian businesses are clamoring for foreign direct investment and the spending of foreign tourists; are these acts of disloyalty? 

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A car bomb exploded in a bustling area of central Damascus, killing 15 people and wounding at least 53, according to Syrian state news. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) attributed the blast to a booby-trapped car located near Sabaa Bahrat Square and Shahbander street, both of which are residential and commercial areas. The blast caused extensive damage, blowing out windows from nearby buildings and setting several cars on fire. AFP reports that gunfire was exchanged shortly after the explosion. In mid-February, a car bomb exploded in Damascus near the Baath party headquarters and the Russian embassy. Meanwhile, the government launched several attacks on opposition-held positions throughout the country in attempts to regain lost territory. They reclaimed control of Aziza, a town near the city's military airport. Syrian warplanes attacked Alepoo, Latakia, Deir Ezzor, in addition to other locations. An airstrike on Sunday in Aleppo killed at least 12 civilians. SOHR reported that the opposition fighters helping to control these areas withdrew after they ran out of ammunition. Meanwhile, the United Nations continues to investigate allegations of chemical weapons use. "The use of chemical weapons by any side, under any circumstances, would constitute an outrageous crime with dire consequences and constitute a crime against humanity," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said. He added that an inspection team is waiting in Cyprus for permission to enter Syria and begin their investigation. 

Headlines

• At least six people have died during clashes outside of Egypt's Coptic Christian Cathedral. The fighting began after an argument on Friday escalated into a gunfight, killing a Muslim and four Christians. President Morsi has condemned the clashes and called for an investigation.
• Israeli government officials have dismissed cyber attacks on about 100 Israeli websites as insignificant. The attacks were perpetrated by the group Anonymous, which aimed to "wipe Israel off the map of the Internet" in protest over Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
• Talks in Kazakhstan over Iran's disputed nuclear program ended on Saturday without any progress or plans for more dialogue.
• Tammam Salam, a Sunni Muslim, was named as the new prime minister of Lebanon by the president. His father, Saeb Salam, had been the country's prime minister for six times between 1952 and 1973.
• A suicide bomb and a grenade attack at a political rally in the Iraqi city of Baquba killed at least 22 people and injured 50.

--By Jennifer Parker