Arabic Papers React To Bush Tour
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Al Jazeera English
January 11, 2008 - 3:57pm

Around the Arab world, newspaper editorials have reacted both positively and negatively to the US president's visit to the region. George Bush himself described his visit as an attempt to "nudge" forward a recently revived peace-process, while some of the papers on Friday expressed a different view. Although Bush spoke of Israel's "occupation" of territory it seized in the 1967 conflict, he was clear that any "mutually agreed adjustments" would still leave Israel with settlements in the West Bank.

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Occupation Of Palestinian Land Must End, Bush Tells Israel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Donald Macintyre - January 11, 2008 - 3:37pm

President George Bush last night called for Israel to end what he unequivocally called its "occupation" of territory seized in 1967 and proposed "compensation" as a means of solving the issue of Palestinian refugees.

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U.s. Seen In Policy Retreat
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Khaled Moussa Al-omrani, Adam Morrow - (Analysis) January 11, 2008 - 3:37pm

Recent months have witnessed several notable political reorientations in the Middle East, involving Iran, the Gulf states, Egypt and Lebanon. Several experts say the changes reflect a shift in Washington's regional strategy following recent U.S. policy setbacks.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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A New Two-way Street Called Bush
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Gulf News
by George S. Hishmeh - (Opinion) January 10, 2008 - 5:00pm

The objective of the US president is to rally the Arab neighbours of Iran against the latter's nuclear ambitions These are not the best of times for George W. Bush. The unpopular US president, a lame duck to boot, should not even consider venturing abroad, certainly to areas such as the turbulent Middle East where America's image has hit rock bottom during his tenure. The blame is attributed to his administration's policies which have wrecked havoc in the region and yielded little to brag about.

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