[New York Times] Sheryl Gay Stolberg - With President Bush headed to the Middle East this week for the second time in five months, peace seems as elusive as ever. "It's hard to remember a less auspicious time to pursue Arab-Israeli peacemaking than right now," said Jon B. Alterman, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The politics on the ground are absolutely miserable. U.S. power and influence are at low ebb in the region. The Bush administration is beset by challenges - the combination of a faltering economy, persistent difficulties in Iraq and a growing threat from Iran - all at a time that the president's popularity is at a historical low, and his administration is settling more and more into lame duck status."
2008-05-13 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive