Rude wrote:
I believe Bush's next stop is Isreal....a boot on Isreals neck and a legitimate partner in Palestine will be necessary to foster some form of peace in that region.
I think the exact opposite will happen.
Bush is a self claimed born again Christian. He has massive support from the religious right and they're applying pressure on him.
For some thousand year, the second coming of Christ has been 'very close indeed'. And part of the big plan there is for the land of the Jews to belong to the Jews. In other words, the roadmap for Christ's return must be in place, and that means Israel sitting on that territory.
So not only does he have a very, very powerful Jewish lobby to satisfy - his own brothers and sisters in Christ will try to influence him to keep things as they are - or perhaps some more gains for the Israelis.
Say what you will - the Israelis have treated Palestinians appalingly bad. Sure they're muslims and aye, they got a good deal of true wackos there, but it is also true that there are hard working God fearing men and women there, being opressed by the Israelis. When I say opressed I am not referring to legitimate protective measures, but more to the settlements and all the grievous hurt and pain they bring with them.
No, Blair is gonna push Bush, but Bush is not going to listen. He focuses on one thing at a time and once something has settled in his mind he is too conservative to reevaluate the issue. it is a blessing at times (as in Churchill during war time) but a distinct disadvantage at other times when the situation is neither black nor white.
Only when the US puts sufficient and *real* pressure on Israel will there be peace in that region of the world. But with the political climate right now and the powerful lobbying groups in the US and the money-buys-influence-money-buys-votes system in the US, I think it is unlikely Bush will push something he really doesn't care that much about as long as it matches his personal religious faith.
