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Bush Hits a Wall in the Mideast

[Washington Post] Jim Hoagland - Bush is a long shot to pull off a diplomatic triumph that has eluded a long line of outside negotiators. The stretches of peace that have come to the Middle East have been created locally - out of desperation - not through grand designs whipped up in Washington. In Damascus, Hamas political leader Khaled Meshal called on Egypt to stop cooperating with Israel in policing the Gaza frontier. Hamas is in fact calling the great Arab bluff that has prevailed for more than half a century. Arab leaders profess to harbor nothing but feelings of brotherhood and unity for the Palestinians and their cause. But fear actually drives their policies - fear of the radicalism of Palestinian politics and of public opinion in their own countries. Arab leaders were telling Bush that the Palestinian plight is the creation and responsibility of the West. Arab states will not take financial, social or political responsibility for the Palestinians just to help out Bush, Abbas, Israel - or even the Palestinians.
2008-01-28 01:00:00
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