It is a dangerous game
played by every
Commander in Chief that
has walked the West Wing
since Roosevelt: Middle
East Peace. Every U.S.
president wants to be
"that president" who was
finally able to
facilitate a lasting
peace between the
Israelis and her Arab
neighbors. Truth be
told, no U.S. president
has come even remotely
close to such an
objective. If past is
prologue, no U.S.
president ever will.
Five years ago,
President George W. Bush
stood in the Rose Garden
and affirmed his
commitment to the
establishment of a
"Palestinian" state
alongside Israel. In
fact, he dedicated his
second term to such an
objective. Since then,
Bush has insisted on
applying consistent and
continual pressure
toward Israeli leaders
to concede that which is
crucial to their own
survival: land. Of no
secret is Bush's public
praise of Ariel Sharon's
complete disengagement
from all 21 Jewish
settlements in the Gaza
Strip in August, 2005.
Also of no secret is
Bush's condemnation of
Sharon's proposal to
build more settlements
in Judea and Samaria
(read: 'the West Bank").
This president insisted
that a
democratically-elected,
"Palestinian" government
alongside Israel would
open the door to peace
in the Middle East--and
Gaza held the key that
would unlock it.
Hindsight tells a
totally different story,
as a lawless band of
terrorist
thugs--Hamas--found
themselves sweeping the
Gaza elections in
January of 2006. The
rest is murderous
history.
Well over a year later,
the new government in
Gaza has brought nothing
to its people except
death, lawlessness,
poverty, and a complete
socio-economic collapse.
In so doing, it gave the
world a sneak peak of
what the reality of a
"Palestinian" state, as
it were, would look
like.
Earlier this week, Bush
affirmed his increased
commitment to the
Quartet's "Roadmap for
Peace", and, in the
process, confirmed our
worst fears: he's
learned absolutely
nothing. Even worse,
Bush has authorized the
transfer of millions of
dollars in foreign aid
into the hands of a
cold-blooded terrorist
and Holocaust
denier--one for whom
Bush has vouched as a
key player in the peace
process: Abu Mazen (aka
Mahmoud Abbas).
Bush is "rolling the
dice" in a game he has
no business playing. By
establishing Abu Mazen
as his "Palestinian"
pointman, he just rolled
snake eyes.
Read the Transcript of
President Bush's Speech
