In Mideast Strife, Bush Sees a Step To Peace

[Rose Siding]

President Bush's unwillingness to pressure Israel to halt its military campaign in Lebanon is rooted in a view of the Middle East conflict that is sharply different from that of his predecessors......

"The president believes that unless you address the root causes of the violence that has afflicted the Middle East, you cannot forge a lasting peace," said White House counselor Dan Bartlett. "He mourns the loss of every life. Yet out of this tragic development, he believes a moment of clarity has arrived."

One former senior administration official said Bush is only emboldened by the pressure from U.N. officials and European leaders to lead a call for a cease-fire. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan demanded yesterday that the fighting in Lebanon stop.

"He thinks he is playing in a longer-term game than the tacticians," said the former official, who spoke anonymously so he could discuss his views candidly
...
Bush and his team were also deeply skeptical of the Middle East policy of the previous administration, and of what they see as an excessive devotion to a peace process in which one of the protagonists, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, was not seriously invested. Explaining the reluctance to push quickly for a cease-fire, one senior administration official who was not authorized to speak on the record indicated a belief that premature diplomacy might leave Hezbollah in a position of strength.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/20/AR2006072001907.html

[K8-EEE]

1. IT'S THE NEW IMPROVED WAR ON TERRA!!!

The new "Mushroom Cloud" is "Israel's Survival!"

Man I called that one....

[leftyladyfrommo]

21. And I thought it couldn't get any worse. Ole dumb me n/t

[madeline_con]

2. Shoot first, ask questions later....

The president would say: 'You have an opportunity to really grind down Hezbollah. Let's take it, even if there are other serious consequences that will have to be managed.'

I'm going to be sick... :puke:

[Rose Siding]

3. No, no questions later.

-not according to the bushie strategy. That would be called "playing the blame game" or "pointing fingers" during a push to "move forward".

[aaronbees]

4. "excessive devotion to a peace process"....

That says it all right there about this administration's "war is peace" Orwellian nightmare strategy. Oh, and BushCo couldn't find a root cause to save its life because if it did, our whole house of cards would come tumbling down.

[daleo]

5. You have to address the root cause of the violence

And you address that with more violence. Once violence has been eliminated with greater violence, no one will think of resorting to violence anymore. Because they will finally understand violence doesn't work.

[bunyip]

10. Priceless!

That is the essense of what neocons say and the sheeple believe. :evilfrown:

[ixion]

12. awesome post daleo

a textbook example of neocon (ill)logic.

[Erika]

6. He takes guidance from Haliburton

What is good for them is good for bushbots. They don't care about Americans.

[Erika]

7. W wants to decimate the Muslims and kill all of them

Like Coultergeist envisioned. Kill their leaders, and if they won't convert to Christianity, kill them also.

She'll skip a beat and let them convert to Judaism.

W is a frat boy, and will never change. It's all a party to him. He never had to work for a living and finds such a prospect quite below him. That's what "those other folks" are here for.

[tabasco]

11. Bush loves rich Muslims. The only people he hates are poor people.

Like the good Christian he is.

[kurth]

25. Ahh - Love is in the air

Springtime romance for the chimp.

[ninkasi]

8. This is a large part of the problem here...

from the article, "One former senior administration official said Bush is only emboldened by the pressure from U.N. officials and European leaders to lead a call for a cease-fire. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan demanded yesterday that the fighting in Lebanon stop." The man is so dense and so stubborn, that he won't do anything to help the situation if other leaders are calling for a cease-fire.

No, things have to go Dubya's way, or not go at all. The dolt is a stubborn, dim-witted ignoramus who views everything as a power play, and he's playing to win, even if the world erupts into nuclear warfare as a result. So he'll stuff another loaf of bread into his mouth, and chew with the whole revolting mess wide open to disgust everybody, and mouth a few more juvenile remarks about how big some country is, and he'll think he's the best thing going. He has no class, no clue, and absolutely no brain.

[rodeodance]

18. Bush's 'resolve' is NOT a virtue.

[DELUSIONAL]

9. increased spying on Americans -- more spying -- that's the ticket!

[Demeter]

13. Sure to Be a Step Backwards

George is not what one would call "progessive".

That moment of clarity is the world, realizing that Bush is even crazier than they thought.

And as for root causes: Politician, Heel Thyself (as in curbing the dogs of war)

[BootinUp]

14. He must be thinking by the year 3000 I guess. n/t

[wherewingstakedream]

15. War is peace!

Freedom is slavery! Ignorance is strength!

[Punkingal]

16. Sick, sick, sick...

This little gem is in the article:

"Bush and his team were also deeply skeptical of the Middle East policy of the previous administration, and of what they see as an excessive devotion to a peace process"

Heaven forbid we should have an excessive devotion to a peace process!

[Roland99]

17. Bush gets his ideas from a distorted view of the Book of Revelation.

[rodeodance]

19. "Many Mideast experts warn that there is a dangerous consequence..."

......Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress, said Bush's statements reflect an unambiguous view of the situation. "He doesn't seem to allow his vision to be clouded in any way," said Rosen, a Democrat who has come to admire Bush's Middle East policy. "It follows suit. Israel is in the right. Hezbollah is in the wrong. Terrorists have to be eliminated, and he sees Israel fighting the war he would fight against terrorism."

Many Mideast experts warn that there is a dangerous consequence to this worldview. They believe that Israel, and the United States by extension, is risking serious trouble if it continues with the punishing air strikes that are producing mounting casualties. The history of the Middle East is replete with examples of the limits of military power, they say, noting how the Israeli campaign in Lebanon in the early 1980s helped create the conditions for the rise of Hezbollah.

They warned that the military campaign is turning mainstream Lebanese public opinion against Israel rather than against Hezbollah, which instigated the violence. The attacks also make it more difficult for the Lebanese government to regain normalcy. And what seems now to be a political winner for the president -- the House overwhelmingly approved a resolution yesterday backing Israel's position -- could become a liability if the fighting expands to Syria or if the United States adds Lebanon to Iraq and Afghanistan as a country to which U.S. troops are deployed.

"There needs to be a signal that the Bush administration is prepared to do something," said Larry Garber, the executive director the New Israel Fund, which pushes for civil rights and justice in Israel. "Taking a complete hands-off, casual-observer position undermines our credibility. . . . There is a danger that we will be seen as simply doing Israel's bidding."........

[The Stranger]

20. What disgusting fucking Neocon propaganda.

Did Richard Perle ghost write this "analysis"?

[stepnw1f]

22. Sick in the Head

There is no hope for this guy. He has been completely swallow by hatred and greed.

[MadHound]

23. In other words, Bush's vision of peace

Is to lay waste to the land, and then declare peace. God help us all:banghead:

[MallRat]

24. Bush may be in the bubble, but his enablers aren't.

I posted this over at Atrios, but I thought it was worth repeating here.

Holy effing crap. :scared:

I can believe that Bush's inner circle is so arrogant and so insular as to truly believe that they're making great strides in Iraq, and that they can do the same to reshape the rest of the region.

However, I cannot believe that this fantasy can possibly extend beyond Bush's immediate group of advisors. There are hundreds, if not thousands of Republican politicians, activists, strategists, policy wonks, analysts, and pundits who live outside the bubble. They know better, but they don't dare say so.

All of which leads me to one of three conclusions:

1. Perhaps the sheer charismatic power of George W. Bush has created such a total and complete cult of personality, that these enablers actually believe in what they're saying and doing on behalf of the Administration. (I find this hard to believe, but whatever... you have to consider it as a possibility), or;

2. Nearly six years into the Bush presidency, these enablers see no alternate path to ensure their own career development and job security- there is simply no way to cross this Administration and still have a future in the Republican party machine. So, they keep their heads down, hold their tongue, play their parts, and act like good little Germans, or;

3. The relationship runs in the other direction altogether. Through his belligerent and tone-deaf policies, Bush is enabling these people to achieve their greatest ambitions, not the other way around. It may be great wealth, or a means to achieve some religious end (i.e., the Rapture, or the righteous slaughter of non-believers), or the bare-faced accumulation of naked power, but they're all getting something out of propping up this Administration.

You want to tell me that Bush is a malignant narcissist with delusions of grandeur, or that he's just batshit crazy? Fine, I agree. But what's everyone else's excuse?

[VegasWolf]

26. Was this statement before or after Bush partook of the white powder? nt