Sauron

Right about now, Dubya is wondering why his charm, folksy wit, and habit of making up pet names didn't bowl 'em over in the Mideast.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2003Jun11.html

Bush Reacts Carefully to Violence
President Addresses Middle East With Moderate Pleas for Peace

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 12, 2003; Page A18

The Bush administration has reacted with deliberate caution to the mounting violence in the Middle East, limiting the level of direct presidential involvement despite President Bush's vow at last week's summits to remain engaged in the new U.S.-backed peace plan.

Mid-level White House and State Department officials yesterday placed calls to their counterparts in the Middle East to try to keep the peace plan alive. But more senior officials and Bush, who invested enormous prestige in last week's summits in Jordan and Egypt, so far have not called either Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon or the new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas.