George W [lame duck] comes to Israel to celebrate it's 60th anniversary and meets PM Olmert [dead duck].
The Independent reports on the cheesiness of one of the celebrations:
"It doesn't get much cheesier than this. Certainly, not all Carole King fans will applaud the choice of her "You've Got a Friend" as the centrepiece of the entertainment provided for President George Bush last night at an event in Jerusalem to salute his unswerving support for the Israeli leadership over the past seven years. But the Israeli singer Adi Cohen's rendition of it at the international conference hosted by President Shimon Peres set the seal on a day of relentless, high octane professions of mutual admiration to mark Israel's 60th anniversary.
On this, his second, and presumably last, visit to the Holy Land as the President of the United States, Mr Bush brought with him some "beautiful presents" for Mr Peres. But as Channel One's reporter Ayala Hasson tantalisingly explained, the details could not be disclosed "for security reasons". What could this mean?"
Overnight George W, in addressing the Knesset, has accused and labelled those who want to speak with, for instance, Hamas, as "appeasers" and "delusional".
Pity, then, that George W and his advisors don't reflect on the idiocy of their policies over the years which have seen the Middle East become a cinder-box and the world less secure.
Daniel Levy is director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at The Century Foundation and director of the Middle East Initiative at the New America Foundation. In an op-ed piece "Road map to nowhere" in the IHT he writes:
"This is one of those times of maximum mismatch between the optimistic rhetoric of peace process declarations and expectations and the gloomy reality of daily experience and prospects on the ground.
The Annapolis architect, President George W. Bush, is back in the Middle East, still declaring the worthy goal of peace in '08. But the fundamentally flawed logic of the process initiated last year is increasingly transparent.
The economic, social and health conditions of Gazans collapse further as the siege continues; rockets fall on southern Israel; settlements keep growing, and, not surprisingly, Palestinians and Israelis scoff at the peace merry-go-round."
And:
"It doesn't have to be this way. Options do exist for making this process more meaningful and capable of delivering results: engaging, even indirectly, with Hamas; addressing the external actors, such as Iran and Syria, which are helping to shape the environment in which Hamas and others operate; facilitating a renewed Palestinian unity understanding whereby Abbas as a negotiator would also be representing that broader Palestinian adversary."
The Independent reports on the cheesiness of one of the celebrations:
"It doesn't get much cheesier than this. Certainly, not all Carole King fans will applaud the choice of her "You've Got a Friend" as the centrepiece of the entertainment provided for President George Bush last night at an event in Jerusalem to salute his unswerving support for the Israeli leadership over the past seven years. But the Israeli singer Adi Cohen's rendition of it at the international conference hosted by President Shimon Peres set the seal on a day of relentless, high octane professions of mutual admiration to mark Israel's 60th anniversary.
On this, his second, and presumably last, visit to the Holy Land as the President of the United States, Mr Bush brought with him some "beautiful presents" for Mr Peres. But as Channel One's reporter Ayala Hasson tantalisingly explained, the details could not be disclosed "for security reasons". What could this mean?"
Overnight George W, in addressing the Knesset, has accused and labelled those who want to speak with, for instance, Hamas, as "appeasers" and "delusional".
Pity, then, that George W and his advisors don't reflect on the idiocy of their policies over the years which have seen the Middle East become a cinder-box and the world less secure.
Daniel Levy is director of the Prospects for Peace Initiative at The Century Foundation and director of the Middle East Initiative at the New America Foundation. In an op-ed piece "Road map to nowhere" in the IHT he writes:
"This is one of those times of maximum mismatch between the optimistic rhetoric of peace process declarations and expectations and the gloomy reality of daily experience and prospects on the ground.
The Annapolis architect, President George W. Bush, is back in the Middle East, still declaring the worthy goal of peace in '08. But the fundamentally flawed logic of the process initiated last year is increasingly transparent.
The economic, social and health conditions of Gazans collapse further as the siege continues; rockets fall on southern Israel; settlements keep growing, and, not surprisingly, Palestinians and Israelis scoff at the peace merry-go-round."
And:
"It doesn't have to be this way. Options do exist for making this process more meaningful and capable of delivering results: engaging, even indirectly, with Hamas; addressing the external actors, such as Iran and Syria, which are helping to shape the environment in which Hamas and others operate; facilitating a renewed Palestinian unity understanding whereby Abbas as a negotiator would also be representing that broader Palestinian adversary."
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