Editor's Letter
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The Mideast Tinderbox
"I was the first American president to call for a Palestinian state and support. Building support for the two-state solution
has been a top priority of my administration."
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jarc
Our heartfelt
- President Bush
F
Lebanon; Libya's decision to dismantle its weapons of mass
or the first time in generations, the Middle East rep-
destruction program; the fall of Saddam in Iraq; emerging
resents something more than a set of problems to
commerce centers in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates;
be solved or the site of energy resources to be devel-
and the participation of women in public life in several Arab
oped. A free and peaceful Middle East will represent a source
nations.
of promise, a home of opportunity and a vital contributor to
Dampening that outlook are the wars with insurgents in
the prosperity of the world.
Iraq and Afghanistan. Iran and Syria continue to not just
That's how President Bush put it in remarks at the annual
support, but also incite terror. Oppression is a byword across
Saban Forum hosted by the Brookings Institution's Saban
much of the region. And Iran's nuclear arms ambitions have
Center for Middle East Policy in Washington.
escalated under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. I don't
In a Dec. 5 speech extolling his
accomplishments in one of the world's think U.S. sanctions and U.N. resolutions have made an ounce
of difference in Iran's pursuit of uranium enrichment.
most beleaguered regions, Bush
Further, the only reason that fewer Israelis are dying at the
pushed his agenda hard for solving the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He called
hands of Palestinian terrorists is because of Israel's tighter
security, not because Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Al Aqsa Martyrs
the conflict the "most vexing problem
Brigades, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and
in the region!'
other terrorist groups have had a change of heart.
He got that right.
Bush has done as much as any
U.S. president in trying to bring
The Good, The Bad
So when Bush said "the changes of the past eight years herald
lasting peace between Israelis and
the beginning of something historic and new;' I felt he was
Palestinians. But as I listened to his
guilty of exaggerating, if not misreading, the actual state of
speech online, I wondered how he
the region. I don't see, as he does, that possibility and hope
concluded that "there is now greater international consensus"
have leapfrogged darkness and fear. His examples — "freer"
regarding the path to peace "than at any point in modern
Iraqis and Lebanese, United Arab Emirates skyscrapers, the
memory"
Saudi king sponsoring an interfaith dia-
In my estimation, peace is as elusive as
logue, Palestinian reformers fighting cor-
ever.
ruption and terror — didn't resonate with
Bush supported his view by saying the
me.
negotiations since Annapolis a year ago
As a whole, the region is still a briar
have been determined and substantial.
patch of landmines in terms of terror and
Israelis and Palestinians recognize the cre-
politics.
ation of a peaceful, democratic Palestinian
Like Bush, I'd like to believe the day will
state is in their interests, he said.
come when the map of the Middle East
"While the Israelis and Palestinians have
not yet produced an agreement:' he said,
shows a peaceful, secure Israel beside a
peaceful and democratic Palestine. But
"they have made important progress.
that's a tall order. So is Bush's dream of
"And through the Annapolis process:' he
people throughout the region "living in free
added, "they started down a path that will
and independent societies, bound together
end with two states living side by side in
peace
by the ties of diplomacy and tourism and
President Bush: too optimistic?
That's a giant leap of faith.
trade."
There's not a person in the civilized
Last week, the Palestinian Authority
world who, like Bush, doesn't pray for the day when Al Qaeda,
daily newspaper Al Ayyam published a picture of President
Mahmoud Abbas, a so-called moderate leader, addressing the Hezbollah and Hamas are marginalized "as Muslims across
the region realize the emptiness of the terrorists' vision and
Palestine Liberation Organization Central Council. Behind
him was a map of "Palestine" that encompassed all of Israel.
the injustice of their cause."
Above the map was the P.A. flag. The setting? None other than
the Ramallah office complex containing the P.A. presidential
Worthwhile Vision
headquarters. So much for "important progress."
Bush talked longingly about having seen the Middle East up
close.
"I have stood on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and hiked
Dark Clouds Remain
the cliffs of Masada;' he said. "I have enjoyed dinner in the
I'm not criticizing President Bush for his hope of "two states
living side by side in peace!' I just don't share his belief that
desert in Abu Dhabi and prayed at the Church of the Nativity
peace is coming any time soon.
in Bethlehem. I have looked into the eyes of courageous elect-
Arguably, the Middle East is "a freer, more hopeful and
ed leaders from Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian ter-
more promising place than it was in 2001" in the wake of 9-
11, as Bush stated. He cited the removal of Syrian forces from
The Mideast on page A6
gratitude
to the thousands of
generous supporters
of JARC's
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with disabilities
we serve...
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December 18 2008
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