Meanwhile, as the violence continued, President George W. Bush maintained that this is proof that things are improving in the country and that the violence is the attempt by "terrorists" and agitators to upset the apple cart.
In his nationally televised press conference last week Bush reiterated over and over that he believed his task was to "change the world." The president feels so strongly about his mission that he repeated the phrase no less than four times during his 17-minute opening statement.
-- "A secure and free Iraq is an historic opportunity to change the world and make America more secure. A free Iraq in the midst of the Middle East will have incredible change."
-- "I also know that there is an historic opportunity here to change the world. And it's very important for the loved ones of our troops to understand that the mission is an important, vital mission for the security of America and for the ability to change the world for the better."
-- "It will change the world. A free Iraq in the midst of the Middle East is vital to future peace and security."
The president's optimism is to be applauded. However, one can't help questioning whether the increased violence in Iraq along with another important event that transpired this past week -- the president's unwavering support of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and the de facto annexation of a number of West Bank settlements -- will change the world, but in the wrong way.
If the president believes his unilateral support of Sharon's plan -- acting outside of the "road map" framework put together by the Quartet (the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations) -- is going to speed up peace in the Middle East, he forgot to ask the Palestinians, without whom, peace in the Middle East is hardly possible. ...
Here is what Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia had to say: "No one can renounce Palestinians' rights such as the right of return and the right to establish a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders. This is a flagrant bias toward Israel." ...
The view from other parts of the Arab world was not much brighter. The United Arab Emirates' al-Khaleej newspaper accused the U.S. president of having hammered the "last nail in the coffin of the peace process, put(ing) the entire region once again in danger, and (of loosing) ... minimum credibility, responsibility and morals."
London's al-Quds al-Arabi blasted Bush and accused him of "destroying all hopes for peace and stability in the region and the world."
The world is indeed changed this week, maybe not as the president expect, but it is changed nevertheless.
