# Bush thinks he can get a two-state solution for Israel-Palestine before his term ends **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 19, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908 "2008-05-19T23:05:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/1 "2008-05-19T23:05:33Z")
Story [here.](http://www.arabianbusiness.com/press_releases/detail/19051) > [@](#): > > Speaking at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, US President George W. Bush has emphatically reaffirmed his determination to push for an independent Palestinian state by the end of the year. > > “I strongly support a two-state solution,” he said, adding that by this he means a “democratic Palestine based on law and justice that will live in peace and security alongside a democratic Israel.” > > \ > > President Bush said that last year’s conference in Annapolis had described what the Palestinian state would look like. “I firmly believe,” he said, " that with leadership and courage we can reach that peace agreement this year." :rolleyes: George, I’d cheer you on if I thought you could **do** it. But the POTUS who negotiates a final settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians will have to be someone who has some credibility with **both** groups. That ain’t you. You’ve **always** sided with the Israelis against the Pals in any conflict. The Palestinians do not love you, trust you, nor respect you, nor have they any reason to listen to you. Accept reality and go quiet into that good night. What you’ve got now, is your legacy. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/2 "2008-05-19T23:27:39Z")
You don’t think he’s just electioneering on the behalf of the GOP campaigns? And that when you’re giving a speech before a Big Important Body, and you’re going to announce a Big Important World Peace Goal in that speech, it’s generally the Done Thing to include a specific target date, whether it’s actually feasible or not? And that a target date of anything but the reasonably near future just sounds like a wistful “wish list”? I’m not taking it seriously, myself. It’s an election year, and one with a lot at stake. Everything that comes out of a politician’s mouth from now until the first Wednesday in November is deeply suspect IMO, or at least even more suspect than it normally is. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/3 "2008-05-20T00:26:48Z")
[QUOTE=Duck Duck Goose] You don’t think he’s just electioneering on the behalf of the GOP campaigns? And that when you’re giving a speech before a Big Important Body, and you’re going to announce a Big Important World Peace Goal in that speech, it’s generally the Done Thing to include a specific target date, whether it’s actually feasible or not? And that a target date of anything but the reasonably near future just sounds like a wistful “wish list”? I’m not taking it seriously, myself. It’s an election year, and one with a lot at stake. Everything that comes out of a politician’s mouth from now until the first Wednesday in November is deeply suspect IMO, or at least even more suspect than it normally is. [/QUOTE] Nah, I think he’s actually dumb enough that he thinks ‘this time it will work’ because he really really wants it. Look for him to start spouting in August about how things are really better over there - due to either just plain delusion or (more charitably) his people feeding him the version of the truth he wants to hear. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/4 "2008-05-20T00:29:25Z")
Looks like somebody realized it’s just a week before finals, his term paper is due, and he hasn’t even picked a topic yet. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/5 "2008-05-20T00:38:01Z")
[QUOTE=Merijeek] Nah, I think he’s actually dumb enough that he thinks ‘this time it will work’ because he really really wants it. [/QUOTE] You know, Condi says there’s [“private talks”](http://www.africasia.com/services/news/newsitem.php?area=mideast&item=080518163608.eadkuerv.php) going on. Real hush-hush delicate stuff about the BIG issues, that you and I can never know about because it’d screw things up. But now that we know there _are_ private talks, surely we must acknowledge that “anything is possible” and “the sky is the limit.” ---
**Author:** ![MistyCanadian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@MistyCanadian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MistyCanadian)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/6 "2008-05-20T01:01:47Z")
I don’t think he is dumb or stupid. This, as many in the past, is just a setup or the greatest scam in the recent history - peace in the ME. Just read that statement again… “democratic Palestine based on law and justice”… we all know that train has left the station long time ago… Realistically, Palestinian society will just dive deeper and deeper int the depths of loathing where 10 years from now people will rememeber Hamas as chance missed. However, it makes great slogans election campaign. Hopefully Obama doesn’t get sucked into a trap. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/7 "2008-05-20T03:54:25Z")
This disturbs me greatly, because it is something that he personally has been very involved in for his entire presidency. He’s… really focused on it. It’s not going to happen before the end of his term. Something’s going to go wrong. Oh, god, something’s going to go wrong, and I don’t know what, but I have a _really_ bad feeling about it. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/8 "2008-05-20T04:22:15Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] :rolleyes: George, I’d cheer you on if I thought you could **do** it. But the POTUS who negotiates a final settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians will have to be someone who has some credibility with **both** groups. That ain’t you. You’ve **always** sided with the Israelis against the Pals in any conflict. The Palestinians do not love you, trust you, nor respect you, nor have they any reason to listen to you. Accept reality and go quiet into that good night. What you’ve got now, is your legacy. [/QUOTE] I’m not sure any of this even matters. Even if Bush was beloved by the Palestinians and Israelis, an awesome diplomat, had a trillion dollars to spend on the project and spent every day remaining in his presidency in the Middle East, there’s no way he or anyone else is going to bring the decades long conflict to a peaceful resolution in 7 months, especially now when there isn’t even a unified Palestinian gov’t to negotiate with. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/9 "2008-05-20T04:31:19Z")
The words “watch me pull this rabbit out of my hat” are running through my mind. George Bush, a man who - to put it in the most charitable terms - has not had a perfect record in diplomacy, thinks he can unravel what is probably the most long-standing and unsolveable diplomatic situations in the world in the next six months? Richelieu, Mazarin, Talleyrand, Metternich, and Bismarck all working side-by-side would probably not be able to do this. Bush, on the other hand, probably doesn’t know who any of the people in the preceding sentence are. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/10 "2008-05-20T05:03:40Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] You know, Condi says there’s [“private talks”](http://www.africasia.com/services/news/newsitem.php?area=mideast&item=080518163608.eadkuerv.php) going on. Real hush-hush delicate stuff about the BIG issues, that you and I can never know about because it’d screw things up. [/QUOTE] “Secret talks are taking place in these trailers.” They could even use the same pictures again. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/11 "2008-05-20T06:12:21Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] The words “watch me pull this rabbit out of my hat” are running through my mind. [/QUOTE] Again? That trick _never_ works! (And neither will this little escapade, methinks.) ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/12 "2008-05-20T08:26:45Z")
If I was a Palestinian or leader of Hamas, there is no chance that I would negotiate an independent two-state rule while Bush is in power. After 60 years, I’d at least wait another 8 months until the next president as to not give this 'tard any credit. And **Little Nemo** , we all know that Bush has no idea who you were talking about. ---
**Author:** ![spifflog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@spifflog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spifflog)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/13 "2008-05-20T12:16:30Z")
I understand knocking Bush is one of the board’s favorite spectator sports, but this seems remarkably similar to Clinton’s July 2000 summit with Arafat and Barak. There are certainly differences on how they are attempting to carry it out, but all President’s start thinking about their legacy at the end, republican and democrat alike. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/14 "2008-05-20T13:26:59Z")
Maybe you haven’t noticed the small print, but one of the two states is Texas. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/15 "2008-05-20T13:33:05Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] :rolleyes: George, I’d cheer you on if I thought you could **do** it. But the POTUS who negotiates a final settlement between the Israelis and the Palestinians will have to be someone who has some credibility with **both** groups. That ain’t you. You’ve **always** sided with the Israelis against the Pals in any conflict. The Palestinians do not love you, trust you, nor respect you, nor have they any reason to listen to you. Accept reality and go quiet into that good night. What you’ve got now, is your legacy. [/QUOTE] On those grounds, no POTUS will ever negotiate a final settlement, because they’ve all sided with the Israelis. From a Palestinian POV, I’d be surprised if they trusted any American negotiator/mediator, no matter what his background. There’s just too much obvious pro-Israel sentiment here (making no judgment about whether the same is warranted). ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/16 "2008-05-20T13:45:28Z")
They’ve been arguing for 2000 years. It’s gotta be over soon. (stolen from somewhere) ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/17 "2008-05-20T13:58:20Z")
Considering George’s first trip to Israel wasn’t until just a few months ago, even the Israeli street doesn’t see him is very committed. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/18 "2008-05-20T14:52:25Z")
[QUOTE=OttoDaFe] Again? That trick _never_ works! [/QUOTE] Hmmmmm - I usually take a 7 and 5/8ths. Perhaps Professor Peabody and Sherman (Ever Dog Should Have a Boy) can use the Wayback Machine, go back to 2000 years, and straighten the entire mess out in the early stages. ---
**Author:** ![Plexi\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f6c823/32.png) [@Plexi\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plexi_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/19 "2008-05-20T15:50:40Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] On those grounds, no POTUS will ever negotiate a final settlement, because they’ve all sided with the Israelis. From a Palestinian POV, I’d be surprised if they trusted any American negotiator/mediator, no matter what his background. [/QUOTE] Yup. I’m not sure from their POV, they would even care who the President is. They are negotiating with America, not Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908/20 "2008-05-20T17:07:20Z")
[QUOTE=E-Sabbath] This disturbs me greatly, because it is something that he personally has been very involved in for his entire presidency. He’s… really focused on it. It’s not going to happen before the end of his term. Something’s going to go wrong. Oh, god, something’s going to go wrong, and I don’t know what, but I have a _really_ bad feeling about it. [/QUOTE] Actually, didn’t he pretty much ignore the whole thing for the first six years or so? -Joe [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-thinks-he-can-get-a-two-state-solution-for-israel-palestine-before-his-term-ends/449908.md?page=2)