Bush to visit Israel and West Bank in January

[Scurrilous]

Source: Reuters

<snip>

"President George W. Bush will visit Israel, the West Bank, Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East next month to help advance the revived Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the White House said on Tuesday.

The announcement of Bush's January 8-16 trip follows a U.S.-hosted conference last month in which Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas promised to seek a peace deal by the end of 2008.

After the 44-nation gathering, Bush assured the two leaders the United States would actively engage in peacemaking, despite deep skepticism over the chances for an agreement before he leaves office in January 2009.

Olmert and Abbas are politically weak at home, and Bush is weighed down by an unpopular war in Iraq. Criticized for a hands-off approach to Middle East diplomacy, Bush's decision to make the trip appears intended to reinforce his newfound commitment."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSWAT00859320071218

[LakeSamish706]

1. Good, maybe with any luck they will keep him! n/t

[CoffeeCat]

2. Oh great...

Sending George Bush to broker peace is like sending Charles Manson
to a High Tea for a manners demonstration.

:scared:

[KoKo]

3. Ha...He's going looking for money to save us from recession...

He doesn't give a damned about diplomacy.... And, he's probably going to see if he can get Israel to bomb Iran to remove that threat from his beloved Saudi's who are already buying up many of our assets.

[brooklynite]

4. Seriously, how does he pull this off?

If he enters the West Bank under Israeli protection, he implies support for Israel's occupation. He he doesn't enter the West Bank under Israeli protection, he's either relying on Palestinian authorities to protect him, or he's saying the Secret Service is on its own.

[Sultana]

5. This should be interesting...

imagine how much security personnel will be there. :crazy:

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

6. Something doesn't smell right here

when does Bush ever schedule his photo-ops? Wouldn't that just give his enemies time to do/plan stuff/?