Bush to Sharon: No Expansion of Jewish Settlements

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush said on Tuesday that he would press Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at their meeting next week to abide by a U.S.-backed road map peace plan that calls for "no expansion" of Jewish settlements.

"Our position is very clear that the road map is important. And the road map calls for no expansion of the settlements," Bush said in a slap at Israeli plans to expand the largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank.
....
"I'm optimistic because I firmly believe that Ariel Sharon wants to have a peaceful partner, wants there to be a democracy in the Palestinian territories," Bush told reporters after meeting with members of his Cabinet.

The settlement issue threatened to be the only sticking point in talks next Monday between Bush and Sharon at the U.S. president's Crawford, Texas, ranch.

"There's a lot of hard work to be done, but we're making progress," said Bush, who has pledged to press Israel to make "sacrifices" to bolster peace talks after the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=8094201&src=rss/ElectionCoverage

[xray s]

1. Does that road map show where the rest areas are?

I gotta pee...

[leesa]

2. "Road Map" They thought of a slogan but forgot to think of a

product.

I can never figure out who is blackmailing whom between Israel and the US. I lean towards Isarael because they extort millions, if not billions, annually, but then sometimes I switch

[BillZBubb]

3. Sharon to Bush: Shut up.

Remember when Prince George told Sharon to "immediately" withdraw the IDF from the West Bank a few years back? A month later, Sharon pulled out a few guys. The Fundies read Busholini the riot act and Ari the Liar redefined "immediately" to mean "whenever convenient". Classic stuff from our non-flip-flopping Chimperor.

I suspect a repeat retreat soon. Deja Vu.

[0007]

4. How many have we heard junior say this very same thing?

[hector459]

5. That is, no more "settlements" (occupation sites) starting ....after we

meet and Bush gets back to Washington and after ... oh, well, you know the game.

[Mari333]

6. This will NOT go over well with the rapture crowd

they see the expansion on the West Bank as part of their end times delusion...they wont like this one little bit.