Does George W. Bush have dreams of presiding over a grand Middle East peace deal at Camp David or some other photogenic spot, like the Red Sea summit of his first term? Aides say he is content for now to take steps toward transforming the region in less obvious but, they believe, more fundamental and lasting ways. So Bush today is in the precarious position of putting his hopes in a region that has yielded only heartbreak.
Content? Less obvious than what, shock & awe?
Fundamental and Lasting:
1. Like ignoring Arafat while stating the need for a Palestinian state?
2. Like championing Democracy until the elected solution fell outside the accepted criteria?
3. Like waiting 14 days after Lebanon and Israel erupt into violent chaos to send an envoy?
If ignorance is truly bliss than George W Bush is the happiest man alive and if all his legacy's hopes are in the Middle East it fully explains the performance of his domestic policy.
Posted by kerry at July 26, 2006 09:44 AM