Too little, too late: Bush goes to Mideast to talk peace
Hoping to score some foreign policy points before his presidency ends, Pres. Bush is off on a five-day romp of the Middle East beginning Tues., in order to strike a deal for the contours of a Palestinian state. The trip, which is centered around the 60th anniversary of Israel’s founding, has many Mideast leaders scratching their heads, asking: "Why now?" From the NYT:
The Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, is embroiled in a criminal investigation that threatens to cost him his job. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, left Washington disappointed after a recent meeting with Mr. Bush. Although the peace talks continue, the two sides are far apart on the core issues that divide them, and the White House press secretary, Dana Perino, has said progress is ‘’more halting” than Mr. Bush would like.
The talks are so tenuous that even Stephen J. Hadley, Mr. Bush’s ever-optimistic national security adviser, conceded there is little reason for the three leaders to get together. Mr. Bush will meet Mr. Olmert in Jerusalem, and see Mr. Abbas separately, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
“This did not seem the time for a big high-level three way event with the president and the prime minister and President Abbas,” Mr. Hadley said. “It just doesn’t feel right as the best way to advance the negotiations.”
Middle East expert Anthony Cordesman summed it up eloquently. “In some ways, this is the road show cast of ‘Waiting for Godot,”’ he said. The trip will “basically set a marker while everybody waits for the next president.”
Ouch.
Bush, Israel, Abbas, Olmert, Palestine, Peace talks
