• Home
  • Perspectives
  • Articles
  • Columns
  • Platform
  • Poetry
    • Literature
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • My account
  • Support
    • Donation Confirmation
  • Write for us
Sign in
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Privacy Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
Search
56.8 F
Los Angeles
Saturday, January 16, 2021
  • Contact MMN
  • en English
    af Afrikaanssq Albanianam Amharicar Arabichy Armenianaz Azerbaijanieu Basquebe Belarusianbn Bengalibs Bosnianbg Bulgarianca Catalanceb Cebuanony Chichewazh-CN Chinese (Simplified)zh-TW Chinese (Traditional)co Corsicanhr Croatiancs Czechda Danishnl Dutchen Englisheo Esperantoet Estoniantl Filipinofi Finnishfr Frenchfy Frisiangl Galicianka Georgiande Germanel Greekgu Gujaratiht Haitian Creoleha Hausahaw Hawaiianiw Hebrewhi Hindihmn Hmonghu Hungarianis Icelandicig Igboid Indonesianga Irishit Italianja Japanesejw Javanesekn Kannadakk Kazakhkm Khmerko Koreanku Kurdish (Kurmanji)ky Kyrgyzlo Laola Latinlv Latvianlt Lithuanianlb Luxembourgishmk Macedonianmg Malagasyms Malayml Malayalammt Maltesemi Maorimr Marathimn Mongolianmy Myanmar (Burmese)ne Nepalino Norwegianps Pashtofa Persianpl Polishpt Portuguesepa Punjabiro Romanianru Russiansm Samoangd Scottish Gaelicsr Serbianst Sesothosn Shonasd Sindhisi Sinhalask Slovaksl Slovenianso Somalies Spanishsu Sudanesesw Swahilisv Swedishtg Tajikta Tamilte Teluguth Thaitr Turkishuk Ukrainianur Urduuz Uzbekvi Vietnamesecy Welshxh Xhosayi Yiddishyo Yorubazu Zulu
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Privacy Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Media Monitors Network (MMN)
  • Home
  • Perspectives
    • Jerusalem Israel Palestine Dome of The Rock Golden Dome

      The Abraham Accords undermined much-needed peace with Palestinians

      World Map

      Global disturbing disparities

      Globe Algeria Niger Mali Africa

      There is always a price to pay for befriending the Zionists

      Illegal Israeli Settlements

      Antisemitism claims mask a reign of political and cultural terror across…

      The Flower - Pakistan Monument at Night

      Israel in the vanguard of India’s mounting conflict with Pakistan

  • Articles
    • Man studying religious book

      Ishmael and Isaac: An Essay on the Divergent Moral Economies of…

      Mahmoud Abbas

      May Your Home Be Destroyed

      Netanyahu Lighting Hanukah Candles with His Wife and Sons

      Bibi’s Son or: Three Men in a Car

      The Map of Greater Israel

      The Man Who Jumped

      West Bank - Palestine

      Cry, Beloved Country

  • Columns
    • Denouncing Republican Evils Can’t Do Much for the Biden Presidency Without Demanding Progressive Policies

      Denouncing Republican Evils Can’t Do Much for the Biden Presidency Without…

      Tax Revelations and Corporate Media Won’t Defeat Trump

      In 2021, the Best Way to Fight Neofascist Republicans Is to…

      Globe - East Middle - Middle East - Saudi Arabia

      Setting the Stage for the Third Decade of the 21st Century

      Tax Revelations and Corporate Media Won’t Defeat Trump

      Neera Tanden and Antony Blinken Personify the ‘Moderate’ Rot at the…

      Statue of Liberty - United States of America

      The Hard Work of Healing in the New Year

  • Platform
    • Hanukkah Lights

      Hanukkah is not hypocrisy

      The Washington Post

      “Preemptive war could risk millions of casualties. But….”

      When they shout: "We strongly condemn…"

      68

      Why Iran won’t attack Israel

      Is One Iraqi’s Self-Hatred Newsworthy?

  • Poetry
    • Literature
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • My account
  • Support
    • Donation Confirmation
  • Write for us
Home Columns Bush Policy – Neglect and Fantasy
  • Columns

Bush Policy – Neglect and Fantasy

By
James Zogby
-
July 24, 2007
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp
Linkedin
ReddIt
Email
Print
Tumblr
Telegram
Mix
VK
Digg
LINE
Viber
Naver
    56

    On the heels of his upbeat mid-summer progress report on Iraq, President Bush delivered an equally fanciful account of his Administration’s efforts to achieve a “two-state” solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This was the speech the President had been expected to give a few weeks ago on the fifth anniversary of his “two-state vision” speech. And because it bore no relation to reality, it was the speech I feared he would give.

    In his selective recounting of the events that have transpired since 2002, Bush ignored the damage done by his Administration’s neglect; and described the current situation through his ideological prism, rather than the reality that exists on the ground.

    Bush was right to praise Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his Prime Minister Salim Fayyad, but wrong to ignore the deep division now plaguing Palestinian society (and not just between the West Bank and Gaza, but also within them).

    Bush was also right (though woefully late) in stating that it is time to show Palestinians a way forward to peace. But he was wrong to place the heaviest burdens for progress on the already overburdened Palestinians, while ignoring or dramatically downplaying the Israelis’ responsibilities.

    And it was good that Bush pledged support for Palestinian moderate leaders, promised U.S. financial assistance and spoke of a peace conference to be convened some time in the fall. But upon examination, there is much less to these statements than meets the eye. The public embrace by a very unpopular and weakened U.S. President can do more damage than good in a deeply divided Palestinian society –” especially if not reinforced by concrete actions.

    In this context, it is worth noting that the aid pledged by the President is mostly “old” money that had already been promised but not yet delivered. And the announcement of an international peace conference is, at best, premature and even potentially dangerous since it raises expectations which at this point the Bush Administration cannot deliver. This is the problem with “hype:” it may seem promising, but it evaporates when you examine it closely.

    In the end, this Bush speech might be dismissed as “too little too late” –” but it is likely more problematic than that.

    Here’s why.

    In too many areas of the “broader Middle East,” from which the President contended that contributors to regional peace will come, the Bush Administration’s foreign policy has a patterned course. In many instances they failed to act when U.S. leadership might have made a difference. When they did act, they all-too frequently allowed ideology to trump reality, making bad situations worse.

    Their ideology of choice, of course, has been neo-conservatism with its radical and simplistic Manichean world-view, and its fetishistic fixation on a narrow definition of democracy that does not take into account the history or social dynamics at work in the society that is to be “democratized.”

    Being radical ideologues and not practiced diplomats, instead of working to solve problems, they have hastened to “sharpen contradictions;” insisting that “good” never compromise with “evil.” The refusal of complex reality to cooperate with their ideology has not shaken their beliefs. To the contrary, successive failures have only stiffened their resolve.

    And so here we are, six years into the “war on terror,” with no successes to speak of, and no victory in sight.

    Trapped in the middle of the messy situations created by this conflict between fantasy and reality are the people in the many countries impacted by our policies and their “moderate” leaders we have sought to support.

    The Administration’s failures in Afghanistan have left the Karzai government isolated in Kabul. Their miscalculations in Iraq have left the Maliki government, which we once celebrated, able to exert its authority in fewer and fewer places. And now, the Administration, applying the same disastrous logic in Lebanon and Palestine, are putting the Siniora and Abbas governments also at risk of being painted into corners. All of this is so deeply troubling precisely because, especially in Lebanon and Palestine, the leaders in question are in fact good men who deserve so much better.

    If Bush had wanted to make headway toward the goal of a two-state solution, he would have had to address the consequences of his seven year legacy of neglect. The path of progress is now far steeper than Bush will acknowledge and will require more than he is willing to deliver. Saying that the speech was “too little too late” does not mean that nothing can be done. Rather, it necessitates genuine U.S. leadership and determination to undo the damage done. This, I fear, will not be forthcoming.

    • TAGS
    • abbas
    • account
    • achieve
    • actions
    • address
    • administration
    • Afghanistan
    • allowed
    • already
    • anniversary
    • areas
    • authority
    • because
    • being
    • better
    • between
    • broader
    • cannot
    • choice
    • complex
    • compromise
    • concrete
    • conference
    • conflict
    • consequences
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    WhatsApp
    Linkedin
    ReddIt
    Email
    Print
    Tumblr
    Telegram
    Mix
    VK
    Digg
    LINE
    Viber
    Naver
      Previous articlePakistan’s Milestone Judgement
      Next articleGaol or Gallows: Bush Desperation to "Win" cannot go unrewarded
      James Zogby

      Dr. James J. Zogby is President of Arab American Institute in Washington, DC and a regular contributor to Media Monitors Network (MMN).

      RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

      Denouncing Republican Evils Can’t Do Much for the Biden Presidency Without Demanding Progressive Policies

      Denouncing Republican Evils Can’t Do Much for the Biden Presidency Without Demanding Progressive Policies

      Tax Revelations and Corporate Media Won’t Defeat Trump

      In 2021, the Best Way to Fight Neofascist Republicans Is to Fight Neoliberal Democrats

      Globe - East Middle - Middle East - Saudi Arabia

      Setting the Stage for the Third Decade of the 21st Century

      Google Search

      MMN @ Google Play Store MMN @ Amazon Appstore

      MMN @ TwitterMMN @ FacebookMMN Feed

      Newsletter

      EDITOR PICKS

      Denouncing Republican Evils Can’t Do Much for the Biden Presidency Without Demanding Progressive Policies

      Denouncing Republican Evils Can’t Do Much for the Biden Presidency Without...

      January 11, 2021
      Tax Revelations and Corporate Media Won’t Defeat Trump

      In 2021, the Best Way to Fight Neofascist Republicans Is to...

      January 3, 2021
      Globe - East Middle - Middle East - Saudi Arabia

      Setting the Stage for the Third Decade of the 21st Century

      January 3, 2021

      POPULAR POSTS

      167

      The Origin of Freemasonry: The Crusaders & Templars

      April 23, 2003

      Sharon to Peres: We Control America

      November 20, 2001
      Qibla - Kaaba

      Direction of Al-Qiblah

      February 23, 2003

      POPULAR CATEGORY

      • Perspectives13742
      • News2940
      • World2645
      • Asia2300
      • Columns1324
      • Articles859
      • Health245
      • Africa226
      • America119
      ABOUT US
      Media Monitors Network (MMN) is a non-profit, non-partial and non-political platform for those serious Media Contributors and Observers who crave to know and like to help to prevail the whole truth about current affairs, any disputed issue or any controversial issue by their voluntary contributions with logic, reason and rationality.
      Contact us: [email protected]
      FOLLOW US
      • About MMN
      • Disclaimer
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms and Conditions
      • Contact
      Copyright © 2000 - MMN International Inc. All rights reserved.
      Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
      All other brands, logos, and product names are registered
      trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
      ResponsiveVoice-NonCommercial licensed under 95x15
      MORE STORIES
      Iran warns of rapid reaction to any possible aggression

      Iran warns of rapid reaction to any possible aggression

      January 16, 2021
      Cameroon: Authorities urged to seek justice for recent deadly attacks

      Cameroon: Authorities urged to seek justice for recent deadly attacks

      January 15, 2021