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the part of the Bush administration, a last chance for becoming relevant to=20=
a =20
region that is quickly escaping its grip. At worst, the conference was a =20
desperate public relations charade aimed at convincing the American public t=
hat =20
the administration=E2=80=99s plans for democracy and peace in the Middle Eas=
t are =20
unfolding smoothly. In both scenarios, the conference was a necessary but =20
fleeting distraction from the prevailing criticism that the Iraq war is a =20=
=E2=80=98nightmare=E2=80=99
 without end.=20
Bush=E2=80=99s words at Annapolis suggested he was playing exactly the part=20=
Israel =20
expected of him. His emphasis on the Jewish identity of Israel, itself a cru=
de =20
violation of the principles of secularism, seems more than a mere gesture to=
 =20
appease the concerns of Israel and its backers in the US; it was actually a=20=
=20
subtle acceptance of the ethnic cleansing that continues to define Israel=
=E2=80=99s =20
treatment of Palestinians. After all, millions of Palestinians have for deca=
des=20
 been expelled from their land for no other reason than not being Jewish,=20
while  millions of Jews around the world are welcomed =E2=80=98back=E2=80=
=99 to Israel =E2=80=93 a land=20
that  they never lived in or had prior ties to. Could Bush not have known=20
about this  when he emphasised the need for a Jewish state? I doubt it.=20
full article -=20
_www.PalestineChronicle.com_ (http://www.PalestineChronicle.com)=20



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