Coming Up Empty

So what's President Bush got to show for his three-day visit to Israel and the West Bank? Not much more than a bunch of pretty pictures for his scrapbook.

James Gerstenzang and Richard Boudreaux write in the Los Angeles Times: "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."

Richard Wolf writes in USA Today: "Though his language was strong and his mood upbeat, Bush prepared to leave Israel today without any specific progress on the peace talks he jump-started six weeks ago in Annapolis, Md. . . .

"Diana Buttu, a former spokeswoman and negotiator for the Palestine Liberation Organization, said Bush's visit produced more talk than action. 'The real question is, what is he going to be doing?' she said. 'It doesn't seem like he's doing more than making speeches.'"

Tabassum Zakaria and Matt Spetalnick write for Reuters that Bush departs with "no major breakthroughs for his efforts.

"While [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas and [Israeli Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert praised Bush's peace bid, neither offered significant concessions to the U.S. leader. . . .

"Writing in the Israeli Maariv newspaper, columnist Ben Caspit described Bush's visit as 'cordial and ceremonial . . . with a lot of high-sounding talk and very little action'."

Rebecca Harrison writes for Reuters: "After boldly forecasting an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty this year, George W. Bush ended a visit to the Holy Land on Friday at the site where Jesus is said to have declared: 'Blessed are the peacemakers'.

"Skeptics say little short of divine intervention will turn such hopes expressed by Bush, a devout Christian, into reality in the twilight of a presidency that will end next January. . . .

"[N]egotiators face mammoth obstacles: both Olmert and Abbas are politically weak, violence rages almost daily in a Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas Islamists hostile to Abbas, and Bush's reputation in the Middle East is burdened by the war in Iraq.

"Critics note Bush has invested nowhere near the same amount of personal time and effort as his predecessor Bill Clinton, arguing he lacks the will and understanding to broker a deal that has eluded generations of American and other diplomats.