Editor's Letter ICKED A NEW MUSICAL THE UNT0:_r, STOR) 07 TH7.. 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." k_1 7 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 28th Annual Fall Fundraiser On behalf of the men, women and children with disabilities we serve... Thank You! 111 Now more than ever; your 4 jarc support helps JARC remain strong turning the cherished dreams of families and those we serve into realities. Helping People with Disabilities Be Included in Our Community — All Through Their Lives www.jarcsorg December 18 2008 A5