Mideast Plain Talk ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The San Francisco Chronicle (Editorial) January 11, 2008 - 3:35pm President Bush is making the obvious points on his trip to the Mideast. Any peace accord will oblige Israel to pull back settlements on the contested West Bank, and Palestinian leaders must rein in terrorist strikes. » Read more

Substance And Symbolism: Parsing Bush's Words ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) by Ron Kampeas - January 11, 2008 - 3:34pm Picking apart President Bush's summing up of his Palestinian-Israeli peace brokering is a a little like reading the fine print in the nutritional information on comfort food: there's empty puffery, to be sure, but also nuggets of substance. Bush, speaking Thursday at Jerusalem's King David Hotel, was summarizing two days of working meetings with the leaders of the Israeli and Palestinian governments, his first presidential visit to the region. » Read more

Bush Gets No Promises In Mideast Visit ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Los Angeles Times by Richard Bourdreaux - January 11, 2008 - 3:32pm President Bush completed two days of meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders Thursday without a firm public commitment from Israel to halt expansion of West Bank settlements or give the Palestinians a bigger role in policing the territory. Nor did the president make progress on a key Israeli concern that has stood in the way of peace talks for years: a halt in rocket attacks on southern Israel by Palestinian militants based in the Gaza Strip. » Read more

Stairway To Paradise & Obama’s Religion ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Israel Policy Forum by M.J. Rosenberg - (Opinion) January 11, 2008 - 3:31pm At this point, it is far from clear if President George W. Bush’s visit to Israel and Palestine will have tangible results. Certainly his rhetoric was strong and Presidential rhetoric matters. » Read more

Many Palestinians Offer A Bleak Opinion Of Bush ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times by Isabel Kershner - January 11, 2008 - 3:26pm President Bush did not come to this oasis city of beige hills, lush green plantations and ancient ruins on his visit to the Palestinian Authority on Thursday. Given the apparent antipathy of the local population, it is probably just as well. » Read more

U.s. Expectations For Peace ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Associated Press January 11, 2008 - 3:24pm The U.S. expectations President Bush set out Thursday for negotiations and a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, following two days of separate meetings with leaders on both sides: _A peace agreement can and should be complete within the year. _Bargaining must be serious, "starting right now." Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas should continue their regular summit meetings. » Read more

Bush Ends Peace Mission Without Breakthrough ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters by Tabassum Zakaria - January 11, 2008 - 3:23pm U.S. President George W. Bush wrapped up his mission to Israel and the occupied West Bank on Friday, emboldened enough to have predicted a peace treaty within a year but with no major breakthroughs for his efforts. Bush arrived on Friday evening in Kuwait, the first of five stops with Arab allies he hopes will aid the fragile peace process and help contain Iran's growing regional clout. Bush met Kuwait's ruler, who thanked him for his efforts to make progress on issues crucial to the Middle East. » Read more

Bush Alters Stand On Palestinians ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Washington Post by Michael Abramowitz, Jonathan Finer - January 11, 2008 - 3:21pm President Bush said Thursday that Palestinian refugees should receive compensation for the loss of homes they fled or were forced to flee during the establishment of Israel and declared that there should be an end to Israel's "occupation" of lands seized in war four decades ago. Bush made his comments after becoming the first U.S. president to visit Ramallah, the West Bank city that is the headquarters of the Palestinian Authority, in an effort to invigorate negotiations aimed at securing a peace accord before the end of his presidency. » Read more