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No one following Bush parade in Mideast

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - 12:00:41 am CDT

The Bush administration’s lame-duck status was clearly on display during the president’s just-concluded five-day trip to the Mideast.

President George W. Bush’s chief accomplishment may have been getting a standing ovation from the Israeli parliament after he wished Israelis Happy Independence Day in Hebrew.

Progress toward the administration’s proposed two-state Mideast solution?

Zilch.

Persuade the Saudis to significantly boost oil production?

Nope.

When Bush leaves the White House next January, it’s more likely than not that chances for peace between Israel and the Palestinians will be more remote than when he moved in eight years earlier.

One factor is that the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is weakened by a corruption scandal.

It’s also clear that America has lost standing during the Bush tenure as an even-handed and trustworthy broker in peace negotiations.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas indicated disappointment with Bush’s speech to the Israeli parliament in an interview with The Associated Press. “All that we want from them (Americans) is to stand by (our) legitimacy and have a minimum of neutrality,” Abbas said. “The Bush speech at the Knesset angered us, and we were not happy with it,’ Abbas said Sunday. “… I frankly, clearly and transparently asked him that the American position should be balanced.”

Ghassan Khatib, a former Palestinian cabinet minister, was more blunt. “The president was himself, finally. Maybe because this is the end of his political career,” Khatib told the Los Angeles Times. “This is actually him. … I always thought he was a Christian Zionist and a fundamentalist ideologue.”

Meanwhile the Bush administration seems to be experiencing more difficulty in convincing other Arab leaders to go along with its policy of isolating Iran.

The ebbing clout of this policy was demonstrated when Lebanese President Foud Siniora, had to cancel a planned meeting with Bush after the radical Shiite group Hezbollah took over much of Beirut, the nation’s capital. Iran supports Hezbollah with money, training and equipment.

Siniora criticized Bush for not doing enough to support Lebanon, and called on Bush to pressure the Israeli’s to end their occupation,” according to USA Today.

Bush’ visit apparently was intended to lend momentum to ongoing peace negotiations that the administration tried to jump-start at a summit in Annapolis late last year.

Unfortunately, at this point Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are just going through the motions of negotiation without actually engaging both sides. They’re trying to lead a parade, but no one is following.


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Dave K wrote on May 20, 2008 12:25 am:
" I can't wait until Bush is out of office ... so that the LJS Editorial Board can stop trying to be foreign policy experts. "

 credibility lost wrote on May 20, 2008 4:08 am:
" The Bush administration twice endorsed by the LJS has inflicted severe damage to the international reputation and stature of the United States, but it is not alone. In a London bookstore recently I spotted the book "Why Do People Hate Americans?" by Ziauddin Sardar and Merryl Wyn Davies, an international bestseller that traces the trajectory of U.S. actions since World War II that have increasingly alienated the rest of the world. It did not sell nearly so well in the U.S., where we would really benefit from reading it. When I took it to the counter for purchase the clerk looked at the title and said sarcastically, "Ha, I wonder?" To the rest of the world we are a nation the tries to force our vision of democracy and freedom on others for the benefit of business interests, even as we increasingly fail to live up to our own ideals. We are hypocrites. Nowhere is this more apparent than in our Middle East policy. This is a critical time in our nation's history when as citizens we need to do the hard work of letting go of our sacred national myths and taking a long and sober look at our nation in the mirror and asking if we like what we see. When we recognize how far removed we've become from what we claim to hold dear the next question is what are we going to do about it? In a country where voting for either major political party assures only that corporate interests will be catered to before the interests of citizens, it's a question with no easy answer. "

 Jody P. wrote on May 20, 2008 8:48 am:
" I'll never forget the pictures of Bush in the middle east announcing his "Roadmap for Peace" shortly after the toppling of Saddam. I remember he was grinning ear-to-ear and acting loosey-goosey. It seemed to me that he truly believed that Saddam Hussein was the source of all evil-doing in the region, and now that Saddam was gone the Israeli-Palestinian problems would instantly disappear. Turns out Bush was wrong not only about Saddam's WMD and ties to al-Qaeda, but also about Saddam being the cause of all problems in that region.

The lesson-learned is to never, NEVER oversimplify foreign-policy to the level of a Saturday morning cartoon. Unfortunately that's what Bush did. The sad thing is that may have been the limits of his intellectual grasp, and it's sadder still that we elected him twice. "

 MarkyMark wrote on May 20, 2008 9:44 am:
" The House of Saud has really betrayed the Bush boys. After all the dirty deals these families have been in together along with the bin Ladens, I'm sure the Bush's are heartbroken that they won't help. "

 Sean wrote on May 20, 2008 10:40 am:
" Hey credibility..a book about why the world hates Americans written by a Musilm and one of his groupies. Geez, I wonder how that happened. As for the Brits...I wonder why the Indians, Pakistanis, Zimbabweans, etc. etc. hate them? Like Teddy Rosevelt once said: "The world will never love the United States of America." "They may fear us and they may, one day, respect us." But they will never love us. If your'e so ashamed of your country might I suggest that you and Mrs. Obama immediately immigrate to some other portion of the planet you'd find more comfortable? "

 hskrfan wrote on May 20, 2008 11:32 am:
" Sean, I don't think credibility sounds like they are at all ashamed of the USA. Sounds like they might feel like this administration has lost a great deal of the respect we had in the world before they were "elected". Bush has brought our standing in the world to an all time low with his lies and deceite. No one can deny this fact. We have lost more than 3000 loyal and brave soliders due to this mans ego. History will show he is the worst president we have ever elected. It will also show that he had the worst possible people around him. Dick Chaney--disgraceful, Conde Rice -- disgraceful, along with all the rest-- disgraceful. There are the majority of americans today who believe we are are on the wrong path in this world and need to change our direction. We should be there for any Country that wants to embrace Freedom and Democracy, not FORCE our way of life of them. "

 Dave wrote on May 20, 2008 12:14 pm:
" The headline should say "No one following Bush charade in Mideast"..... "

 Mr. Truth wrote on May 20, 2008 12:27 pm:
" You guys are so funny. You sit here and bash Bush about his presidentcy, yet you were the ones who voted for him...not just one time but twice. Instead of bashing the man why not also take some accountability for what he's done...I mean you did vote him in for YOUR sake right? This time around you should probably vote out of the concern for the Country rather than your own. I'm sure that will be a tough challange for you repub's. "

 Des wrote on May 20, 2008 1:11 pm:
" Geez, I wonder if this has had anything to do with the way the media has treated the Bush administration for the past 7 years? Could it have anything to do with the actions of the Democrat controlled Congress and the actions and statements that they have been putting out since before they retook Congress?? Unfortunately, way too many U.S. Presidents have been lured by the siren song of Mideast Peace. Unfortunately, the only way for that to happen is going to be the forced relocation of all Palestinians out of Gaza and West Bank. Neither Hamas or Fatah or peaceful movement and both are committed to terrorism.

Also, where was the coverage of the powerful speech given by President Bush in Egypt regarding the need for Arab nations to progress and mature out of their current barbarism (crouched in nicer words than that)? So many people whine that the United States's image has been damaged around the world, well how much of that is because of our media?? Of course, that might be too much deep, analytical thinking for most of the LLL commentators that frequent the LJS boards "

 Don wrote on May 20, 2008 1:13 pm:
" The Bush bashers are out in full force today. You criticize Bush for the way he negotiates with other nations, yet want to vote for Barach Obama when he wants to sit down with terrorist leaders without any preconditions. This guy will sell out America before we know what is going on. Bush did talk with the Saudis and they rebuffed him. But in reality the Saudis by increasing the oil production a little bit, have done more to keep the price of oil down than the Democrats in Congress. They continually reject any attempt to drill in the oil shales of Colorado and Canada, thus prolonging our dependence on the Saudis for oil. We have environmentally sound oil drilling techniques, yet the liberal refuse to look at that. It seems to me they want to see Americans in pain financially. "

 progress wrote on May 20, 2008 3:00 pm:
" The reason that the rest of the world doesn't like the US isn't becuse of Bush, it's beacuse of the Lies and deceite of those around the world who have always hated our way of life. There are many factions of the arab world who are moderatly opposed to the political thinking of the United States and would do more than necessary, including spreading lies around the world, to destroy America and it's republic for which it stands. Sadly, the Saudi Govmt has more political control in America than the American Govmt, mostly becuase of all the money they have spent on buying control in the media and also in colleges and universities in EVERY state. The rethoric that flows out of the Arab world is causing Americans to forget where their alleigance lies and one day could be the end of a great nation. "

 Don is Right wrote on May 20, 2008 3:23 pm:
" There are 49 Democrats in the Senate along with 49 Republicans and 2 Independants. If you want more action to repair the damage, we need to vote in many more Democrats. About 60-40 would do. "

 Iraq wrote on May 20, 2008 3:31 pm:
" Did it ever occur to you that, other than trying to look like a tough guy, the main reason for invading Iraq, was to drive up the price of oil? The fat Texas Oilmen (formerly millionaires, now billionaires) are still high fiving and toasting Mr. Bush with 100 year old Scotch! "

 sda wrote on May 20, 2008 4:47 pm:
" I don't see why people think the US needs to be neutral? We should stand for something, have a solid position, and have a big say in world affairs. We are the leaders. This has nothing to do with people hating President Bush. They don't like what we stand for. They fear it coming to their area, and taking away the power they have. We are the world leaders. We set the tone. Anybody who says America is bad or evil or to blame will not get my vote. "

 credibility lost wrote on May 20, 2008 5:39 pm:
" An inventory of comments thus far: Let's see, we have a slur on Muslims, insisting that a Muslim individual cannot write a credible book on the U.S. (By this logic the converse must also be true, and Americans cannot credibly analyze the Islamic world?). Further, as if that were not enough, Arabs have been called barbaric. And, citizens of other nations who have negative opinions regarding the United States apparently do not have them based upon evidence from their own observations and information they routinely gather from their own news sources like the BBC, Agence France-Presse, EFE, or Deutsche Welle, but instead apparently have ill feelings toward the U.S. only due to being duped by a conspiracy of the U.S. media (the same media controlled by giant conservative transnational corporations that cheerleaded us into war in Iraq). Apparently (and this will be stunning news for those on the political left) the Democrats who voted to authorize war have taken the nation in a vastly different direction since gaining control of Congress. Finally, words spoken by actor Brian Keith playing Theodore Roosevelt delivering a fictional speech in the motion picture "The Wind and the Lion" are now passed off as actual words spoken by our twenty-sixth president. And, to top it all off, any who dare exercise citizenship rights by questioning actions of the U.S. government should now relocate to "another part of the planet." Thanks, I had not quite lost all hope. "

 whatever wrote on May 20, 2008 6:21 pm:
" The United States as a government has almost zero credibility on almost every issue. When I look at the economic deals the Chinese have made with virtually everyone in the Western Hemisphere to secure raw materials I wonder what has happened to the Monroe Doctrine. When I look at the arms deals the Russians have cut with Venezuela I wonder what happened to the Monroe Doctrine. The Bush administration and it's allies have sold this country down the river and left us more vulnerable than at any time since the war of 1812. Remember that when making the determination to vote for Johanns. Johanns is clearly part of the problem, not part of the solution. His ties with Bush and Cheney run deep, don't let another one of "these" Republicans fool you come November. And be very wary of a newspaper that has a history of enthusiatic support for individuals who are dangerous to the liberties and values of this country, including freedom of the press. "

 AWP wrote on May 20, 2008 8:27 pm:
" It is a shame that "the world" hates America. Good thing America doesn't hate back. They might just think twice about sending billions of dollars worth of aid to military-controlled impoverished countries that are struck by cyclones and earthquakes that have been caused by George Bush's indifference to global warming. (Don't laugh, Al Gore actually did blame the cyclone on global warming. And don't tell me you are surprised by that.) "

 Uh Don... wrote on May 21, 2008 2:39 am:
" I'm pretty sure Canada would take issue with us drilling oil in THEIR nation, I'm laughing out loud about that one Don! Maybe you mean ANWR which wouldn't even provide us with 3% of our nation's oil supply, and would take at least 10 years to extract it and then longer to refine it? The truth is Bush's Middle Eastern policy has failed. And as for not being in bed with terrorists, Bush and his family are practically married to the Saudi Royal family, who have financed Bin Laden and other terrorist groups in the region, and whom also don't have too great of a track record against woman and the treatment of their own people, unless you enjoy the spectacle of public beheadings, and hearing about women being burnt to death in fires they could not escape since they weren't wearing the "proper" dress style. "

 Zoomie wrote on May 21, 2008 12:33 pm:
" Hey Don - perhaps you missed it but at the same time Bush and McCain were criticizing Obama for saying he would be willing to sit and talk with Syria, Cuba, Hamas or even Hezbollah (note - not give them anything they want, just talk with them), Bush's own Secretary of Defense, Gates, gave a speech in which he said...(cough, cough) that we should be sitting down and talking to Hamas and Hezbollah!!! And so did the US State Department, officially, yesterday!!! And per the NYTimes yesterday, turns out our ally Turkey has been mediating talks between Syria and Israel for over a year now! You know, Don, looks like everyone else in the world -- except Bush and McCain -- have realized you have to talk even with your enemies if you ever plan to make any progress! But I guess that's why McCain plans to keep us in Iraq for a thousand years, huh? "

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