Bush and Abbas take a mid-day stroll. (Photo: AFP)
Posted on 05/17/2008 1:10:41 PM PDT by F15Eagle
US president presses on with Mideast tour, meets with Egypt's Mubarak in Sham el-Sheikh. Due to speak at World Economic Forum on Sunday, Bush says he will outline vision for reaching agreement on future Palestinian state while still in office
US President George W. Bush said on Saturday he remained confident a deal on Palestinian statehood could be achieved before he leaves office, as he sought to ease Arab doubts about his commitment to even-handed peacemaking.
In the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for the final stop of his Middle East tour, Bush faces growing skepticism over his chances of securing an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before he leaves office in January.
"It breaks my heart to see the vast potential of the Palestinian people, really, wasted," Bush said at the side of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "It would be an opportunity to end the suffering that takes place in the Palestinian territories."
Bush and Abbas met for nearly an hour before speaking briefly to reporters. They then strolled back inside, holding hands as they walked slowly down a bouganveilla-lined path, for a private dinner. Abbas glowingly praised Bush's dedication to the talks, launched between the two sides in November for the first time in seven years, and the goal of state defined for Palestinians by the end of Bush's term.
"We know very well that you personally, as well as your administration, are committed to reach peace before the end of 2008," Abbas said. ''We are working very seriously and very aggressively with the hope that we will be able to achieve this objective.''
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in a private meeting with Bush, sought reassurances that the US president was firmly committed to the peace process and would work hard toward the goal of a Palestinian state.
"In my speech tomorrow I'll make it clear that I believe that we can get a state defined by the end of my presidency, and we'll work hard to achieve that objective," said Bush, who is due to address the World Economic Forum on Sunday.
Standing next to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, with their backs to the Red Sea, Bush sought to ease Arab concerns that Palestinians were slighted during his three-day visit to Jerusalem.
Bush said he had spoken with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other Israeli officials in Jerusalem about his Middle East peace goals, and will hold discussions with Abbas later on Saturday.
"Every one of these meetings helps advance the process," Bush said.
"Every one of these meetings helps us inch toward the goal of getting a state defined with borders and the refugee issue, as well as security concerns defined by the end of my presidency," he said. "And I believe we can do that, and I know it's going to be important for the peace in the Middle East."
The other topic that dominated the talks, Bush said, was the recent turmoil in Lebanon, perceived by the United States and many in the Sunni Arab world as a demonstration of Shiite-controlled Iran's quest for more influence in the region.
Bush said he and Abbas agreed on their concern about "radical elements undermining" the US-backed government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.
Hizbullah overran Beirut neighborhoods last week in protest of measures aimed at the group by Siniora's government, a display of power that shocked and concerned the West. "This is a defining moment," he said. "It is a moment that requires us to stand strongly with the Siniora government and to support the Siniora government."
On the way from the airport, Bush's motorcade passed a "peacemakers" mural on the side of the road, a reminder of past efforts on Middle East diplomacy by his predecessors.
Palestinians outraged over Bush's rhetoric
Palestinians were dismayed that Bush, in his speech to Israel's parliament on Thursday, made only one reference to their aspirations for a state of their own and did not use the occasion to press Israelis to make compromises.
Bush hailed Israel as a "homeland for the chosen people" and pledged that Israelis could forever count on American support against enemies like Hamas and Iran.
Bush's arrival in Egypt was met with stinging criticism by the country's state-owned newspapers, which are run by government-appointed managers. "Bush aims to do nothing but appease Israel," wrote Mursi Atallah, the publisher of Al-Ahram, the flagship daily of the state-owned press.
Abbas will make his case for Bush to put more pressure on Israel, but he has little leverage and is weak at home, governing only in the West Bank while Hamas controls Gaza.
"He should have told the Israelis no one can be free at the expense of others," Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said. "He missed this opportunity and we are disappointed."
AP and Reuters contributed to this article.
I can’t understand why people get so upset about McCain when Bush turned out to be 100x worse.
reason #1 I would not want the job...holding hands with other guys.
As far as the state: like it or not it’s needed. Give them a state and hopefully they can get back on their feet
Dividing the land of Israel will result in catastrophe.
But it will seem to work ... for a short while ...
Nothing to see here, just move along. Let’s all go to the “Day in the Life of President Bush” thread. “Oooh look, it’s Barney the dog! He’s swuch a cute liddle doggy yes you are!”
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C07E4D71E31F932A35756C0A9639C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/F/Fattah,%20Hassan%20M.
(2009) Hand in hand with the financier of the Munich Olympic Atrocities and other murders of Americans.
The reason they are a problem is because much of the Arab world and most of the muslim world MAKE it a problem. The Saudis have hundreds of billions of dollars, yet they fund terrorism.
Iran has hundreds of billions of dollars of oil money, yet funds terrorism.
The Egyptians said they would shoot Palis breaking over the wall from Gaza into Egypt.
The Arab / muslim world doesn’t care for the Palestinians.
Kuwait DEPORTED hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.
They want ONE THING. For this to be a constant SORE in the side of Israel.
The West Bank will become a huge Gaza Strip. Right now you have terrorist rockets launched from Gaza at Sderot, etc.
When the West Bank becomes a state, it will be militarized.
Mark my words.
The end game is to wipe out the nation of Israel and push all Jews into the sea.
In the final analysis, the world will choose oil over the fate of the Jews and the only viable democracy in the Middle East.
There is no solution to this, frankly, prior to the Second Coming.
I would be all for peace, but this “peace” is no peace deal in reality at all. It’s just an ever-tightening noose squeezing Israel.
I despise those stupid threads. This is not a monarchy. I don't give a damn about Jenna's wedding and their stupid dog.
Indeed. Which is why we should just tell the Pali’s that they already have a state of their own. It’s called Jordan.
“Dividing the land of Israel will result in catastrophe.”
“What hath God wrought?” may soon be a common saying again. Man never learns...and the blood of the Jews who will suffer within their smaller new borders and at arms length of their enemies as the result of these man-made “negotiations” will also be on our nation and its leader’s hands for taking part in this abomination.
Sad, but true.
LOL. (but sad)
Translation: Bush plans to sell out Israel before the end of his term. He needn’t worry. President Hussein Obama will take care of it for him. Bush’s legacy is already secure: the utter destruction of the Republican Party because they spit in the face of conservatives.
Or in other words, “You must deal directly with terrorists.”
Right?
Mark
The stage is being set. Expect the world to cheer when this Pali state becomes a reality.
haven’t we heard this song before when a president is leaving office?
The whole charade is becoming embarrassing and pathetic. Without the support of the Arabs like Mubarak nothing can or will change. The role of America has always been marginal at best, and the notion of "brokering" a "Peace" fundamentally misguided. It reveals a basic misunderstanding of what the situation requires, and why a generation of "diplomacy" has netted zilch.
They do not want a state of their own. They want all of Israel. Finished.
FReepMail to be added or removed from this pro-Israel/Judaic/Russian Jewry ping list.
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
If they were ‘enlightened liberals’ like those in the NYTimes, they'd know that American's find man-man hand-holding to be sexually deviant and adjust their behavior to culturally accommodate us.
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Or is that only a one-way street?
Let’s not forget the 19 years (1948-1967) that Israel didn’t ‘occupy’ their territory.
They were quite happy without a state back then, too.
Now there's an appropriate symbol. Beautiful profuse flowers, sturdy canes, drought tolerant...
Oh yeah, look a little closer. The stuff grows like kudzu and pity the poor soul who scrapes against it or has to pick up the trimmings. The thorns might as well be the claws of a thousand wild beasts.
I don't much care for them myself, but if you don't like them, don't read them.
No arab state in Eretz Yisrael. EVER!
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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Well, it is the cornerstone of American foreign policy.
Who would you give it two. There's no government in control of the territory or population. Hamas in Gaza, Fatah in the West Bank by virtue of the IDF presence. They need two terror states. As to getting back on their feet, Gaza was the test.
not so fast; keep your wallet open for a generation until they build a decent state, by ME standards.
We’re stuck. We want peace and have to buy it. Amnesty to all, and buy the vote for the “good” side with jobs, loans, empty promises or whatever it takes. Once in power, arm them so they can crush Hamas.
I understand what you're saying, but it won't work under the current circumstances.
First, this process has been going on since 1993, actually 1990 under GWB's dad. That's a generation.
We've supplied funds, arms, training, business opportunities over that period. Their GDP is 70% lower today than when we started.
The problem is that they've used their "freedom" to advance terror. IMO, in 1995, when it became crystal clear that the palestinians weren't ending incitement, weren't disarming terror groups, and were refusing to accept the existance of Israel, the process should have stopped. Dead in it's tracks, till they complied.
Clinton simply ignored the duplicity, and kept things going. GWB took it several steps further with the Road Map, and took palestinian compliance completely off the table, and rewarded them with a full fledged state.
You're right about a generation, but the first step involves incitement and terror. Sending money to terrorists, who raise their children to revere jihad against the west, won't bring a friendly, pro-Western state.
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