Bush's trip to the Middle East was pretty much a complete failure. He was unable to do anything to further the cause of Israeli-Palestinian peace. He was unable to garner support among the Sunni bloc for sanctions against Shiite Iran. If anything, they closed ranks in support of Iran, giving Bush the lame duck, cold shoulder. He was unable to gain any concessions from Saudi Arabia about oil production and ended up promising the Saudis important protections by our military, in their defense, with nothing in return. He did manage to stay friends with Israel. How hard is that?
Bush cautioned Middle Eastern leaders that they should start treating their people with the dignity and respect they deserve. He's not treating the Iraqis with too much dignity and respect. I don't even think he's treated me with much dignity or respect. At least he hasn't thrown a bunch of his domestic political opponents in prison. It seems like he's going to let the elections go forward in November. I guess we should be grateful.
Still and all, nothing went terribly wrong. We didn't end up having to bomb or invade anybody. Nobody pointed, laughed or made rude remarks about him. It could have gone worse.
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