The current political and diplomatic AND MILITARY context is that the US is at this minute at war with these same people.
That makes an insignificant statement like this so much more shameful....and telling. And both ominous and foretelling of our future success or failure against this enemy.
I agree with you that America is in the same war with the same people as Israel, and that we will ultimately have to become more focussed and ruthless to win. But the Bush Administration also has to try to keep Pakistan, Qatar and others on side, we have to get useful cooperation from China, Russia, and France at the UNSC, and we have to succeed in Iraq. Because of these things we simply must be more diplomatic and compromising than the Israelis. It's kind of a good cop/bad cop thing. We have a lot of responsibility that others just don't have. And we have to bring the American public along in their general understanding of the Islamist menace. It is a huge, complex set of objectives and it is possible to go to fast and push too hard at this point in time.