Little to nothing

It's striking how the Bush administration has redefined the term "lame duck presidency." Considering the recent (non) involvement in the Middle East, it would certainly be an understatement to say that the United States is just watching from the sidelines these days.

In Israel, the Bush administration has tried listlessly to push the two sides towards a peace deal. No serious progress has been made. Settlement construction continues in Palestinian lands; a frustrated Mahmoud Abbas has recently threatened to quit; and Olmert, while talking a good game to a visiting American president and Secretary of State, pushes forward on roadblock construction. Despite the high rhetoric of the PR show known as the Annapolis Conference, progress towards peace seems to be going backwards, if anywhere at all.

Meanwhile, as events unfolded in Lebanon in the past two weeks, the Bush administration did next to nothing. While American interests are certainly at stake in the country, there appeared to be a clear understanding that American leverage over the parties is weak at best, and that American direct involvement would achieve little-to-nothing. Indeed, it was the not-so-powerful Qatari monarchy (led by the reformist ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani) which brokered the deal to end the fighting.

Then, just a few days ago, Bush dropped by the Islamic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to talk with King Abdullah about the price of petroleum. Despite the entreaties of a former oilman and family friend, the Saudi monarch refused to up production in order to appease his American guest. Most recently, news has come out that Turkey - not the United States - has been engaged in third-party efforts to mediate a Syrian-Israel peace deal. In a major snub from both the Olmert government and our (albeit tenuous) AKP allies over in Turkey, the Bush administration's calls for isolating Syria have been blatantly rebuffed.

And the list could go on. 

Text taken from On the sidelines.