BUSH'S CHANGE OF COURSE ON ISRAEL

Bush's Mideast Muddle - Michael Oren
Mr. Bush's policies previously seemed unequivocal. He repeatedly affirmed America's support for Israel's identity as a Jewish state, and so ruled out the Arabs' demand for the resettlement of millions of Palestinians within Israel's pre-1967 borders. He further recognized the reality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and insisted that any agreement take that reality into account. Most importantly, Mr. Bush had reversed the once-sacrosanct formula through which the Israelis first ceded territory to the Arabs and only then received peace, insisting that the Arabs first eschew terror and recognize Israel's existence before regaining land. The president upheld Israel's right to defend itself, while stressing the Palestinians' duty to dismantle terrorist infrastructures and abjure violence.

Since Annapolis, however, much of this paradigm has been jettisoned. While the old George Bush deemed the end of terror as imperative for peace and the containment of Iran as the prerequisite for eliminating terror, the new George Bush focuses on Israeli settlement-building and hesitates to confront Tehran. Presidential visits are always characterized as "historic," but Mr. Bush's trip is marked by a lack of momentousness. Israelis will greet Mr. Bush exuberantly, but his departure may leave them grappling with terror largely on their own.

AN APT ANAGRAM FOR "GEORGE W BUSH:" "HE GREW BOGUS"