Bush: Actually, Not So Much With The Peace Process Thing This Year

The White House made it official yesterday: There will be no Middle East peace pact on President Bush’s watch. The long-shot effort by Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had been written off months ago by many analysts in both the region and the United States, but the White House had insisted that a deal remained possible. Yesterday, however, just two days after Barack Obama was elected president, officials confirmed that they will leave the issue to the new president. “We do not think that it’s likely that it would happen before the end of the year,” said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, echoing comments made by Rice during a Middle East swing this week.

And I had such high hopes back in January. Not to be deterred, Rice is planning to submit “her own parameters for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” to the Obama transition team. I wonder which side she’s going to blame. As if the incoming Obama administration needed an excuse to put the onus for peace on Israel.

But hey – at least the headlong rush to prematurely stabilize Palestinian civil society hasn’t had severe and long-term negative consequences.

References:
* No Mideast Deal Under Bush, White House Says [WaPo]
* Bush: Oh Hell Yes It’s Peace Yet! [MR]
* Israel Foils Massive Impending Attack, Hamas Responds With Massive Missile Attack – It’s A Cycle Of Violence! [MR]
* Condi: Failure Of Inevitably Doomed 2008 US Peace Deal Is Israel’s Fault [MR]
* Rice On Inevitable Failure Of Misguided Peace Talks: It’s Israel’s Fault (Plus: Hamas Takeover Of The West Bank Proceeding On Schedule) [MR]
* Obama: “I’m Not Saying Israel Should Have To Take Risks For Peace, But…” [MR]
* State Dept Gives $150M To Fatah Gov’t That’s About To Become Hamas Gov’t (Plus: Shaky Ceasefire Shaken Again) [MR]