Contempt for the Law

USA Today's Richard Wolff reviews the highlights:

"Bush sought to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace talks by shuttling along the checkpoint-studded roads between Jerusalem and Ramallah. Even as he praised both sides for being willing to compromise, 11 members of the right-wing Yisrael Beitenu Party withdrew from the Israeli government to protest Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's handling of the peace negotiations, and Arab newspapers denounced Bush for refusing to push Israel on Jewish settlements.

"The president sought to unite the region against Iran by stressing that U.S. policy on Tehran had not changed despite a U.S. intelligence report that said Iran's nuclear program was shelved in 2003. Israel disputed the intelligence report and refused to rule out military action, while Saudi Arabia said it has no problems with Iran.

"Bush's lone policy speech promoted human rights reforms and democratization in the Middle East. On Wednesday here, he praised Egypt for helping to lead 'the freedom and justice movement' in the Middle East ? even though the nation has backtracked on reforms in the past few years.

"On oil prices, Bush failed to convince Saudi officials that supplies should be increased to drive down gas prices."

Ellen Knickmeyer writes in The Washington Post: "President Bush on Wednesday ended a Middle East tour that political activists saw as lacking the strong calls for democratization made earlier in his administration, disappointing those once encouraged by the statements of American leaders. . . .

"On Wednesday, after discussions with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Bush commended him for progress. 'You have taken steps toward economic openness . . . and political reforms,' Bush said.

"But Hisham Kassem, an Egyptian political activist who last year received a U.S. National Endowment for Democracy award, was left dispirited by Bush's tour. The year 2005 'was the best year in my life, politically . . . . Our hopes were way up there,' Kassem said. 'But -- it was just another story.'

"Anger grew in his voice. 'Bush, as far as American foreign policy vis-a-vis democracy, civil rights, is right back to square one,' Kassem added. 'This trip marks it.'"

Steven Lee Myers writes in the New York Times that Bush "spoke passionately at times about the birth of liberty and justice in countries that restrict them and the role of women in societies that still largely sequester them.

"And yet he avoided public disputes with monarchical leaders widely accused of limiting freedoms as he sought Arab support for the peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, the war in Iraq, diplomatic efforts to isolate Iran and easing the strain on the American economy caused by high oil prices."

Dion Nissenbaum writes for McClatchy Newspapers: "It didn't take long for President Bush's ambitious Middle East peace initiative to collide with a sobering reality. . . .