Leaders Optimistic As Mideast Talks Near

(CBS/AP)  President Bush stepped cautiously into the most direct Mideast peacemaking of his administration on Monday, meeting separately with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to explore whether peace is possible. "Difficult compromises" will be required but the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are committed to making them, he said.

The Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md., is to launch the first direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians of Bush's nearly seven years in office, and has attracted Arab and other outside backing.

Both sides, and the Bush administration, have repeatedly expressed hopes that the decades-old conflict over land sacred to Muslims, Jews and Christians, can be resolved amicably within a year. CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante says the president is "shooting for the fence."

Israeli and Palestinian leaders were unable to frame a blueprint for the talks before they came to the United States, and negotiations over the text were expected to continue into Tuesday.

Speaking Monday to CBS News on the condition of anonymity, an Israeli official in Washington said, "If we do succeed in coming up with a statement, it will be at the eleventh hour."

At an evening dinner at the State Department for members of some 50 delegations invited to the talks, Bush toasted the effort and told the guests: "We've come together this week because we share a common goal: two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security. Achieving this goal requires difficult compromises, and the Israelis and Palestinians have elected leaders committed to making them."

Bush earlier emerged from an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and told him: "I'm looking forward to continuing our serious dialogue with you and the president of the Palestinian Authority to see whether or not peace is possible. I'm optimistic. I know that you're optimistic."

Next, he met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who stressed the need to address issues of Palestinian statehood, sticking points that have doomed previous peace efforts.

"We have a great deal of hope that this conference will produce permanent status negotiations, expanded negotiations, over all permanent status issues that would lead to a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian people," he said. "This is a great initiative and we need his (Bush's) continuing effort to achieve this objective."

Olmert said that international support -- from Bush and also, presumably, from the Arab nations that will attend the conference -- could make this effort succeed where others have failed.

"This time, it's different because we are going to have a lot of participation in what I hope will launch a serious process negotiation between us and the Palestinians," Olmert said. He was referring to the talks expected to begin in earnest after this week's U.S.-hosted meetings.

"We and the Palestinians will sit together in Jerusalem and work out something that will be very good," Olmert said. As to timing, he added later: "We definitely will have to sit down very soon."

The agreement that was shaping up, as Palestinian official Yasser Abed Rabbo described it, is a starting point for negotiations and sketches only vague bargaining terms. The big questions that have doomed previous peace efforts would come later.

The document was to include a formal announcement of the renewal of peace talks, Abed Rabbo said. It will set a target of concluding negotiations before Bush leaves office in January 2009. And it commits the two sides to resolving the key issues that divide them.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qureia said after an afternoon meeting with Rice, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and others that details of the document had not been finalized. "Our efforts are still going on to reach this document," he said.

A member of the Palestinian delegation, speaking on condition on anonymity because talks are still going on, said three main obstacles have emerged.

All sides have agreed that two states should be established, but the Palestinians have objected to referring to Israel as a "Jewish state."

American and Israeli officials are resisting Palestinian efforts to include language about "ending the occupation that started in 1967," referring to the Israel-occupied West Bank.

The Palestinians want the document to set a one-year timetable for reaching a resolution. The Israelis do not want this, and the Americans are open the idea.

[countyboy21]

Well, It''s back 2 business as usual 4 this team! After months of negotiations.
Olmert buys a 2 week vacation trip 4 Abbas in the Bahama!!yea baby!
Abbas buys a string bikini 4 Conaleeza, because Conaleeza is going on vacation with Abbas!
& President Bush gets stuck bailing the fall hay!
V.P. Cheneys office sends Abbas a complimentary assortment of Jack Daniels & country music 4 the beach!
& free tickets 2 the new "show & Go" strip club ''n bath house in Jerusalem 4 Olmet''s cabinet!

WOW!! ain''t this great!!
regards!

[jowand]

Arab leaders have already announced they will not shake hands with Israel''s representatives.

[iceman_1960]

RE: Ron Paul spam by various "Prophets"

The easiest fix is for CBS to add an Ignore Function to the Comments. AOL has that in its chatrooms, so it"s already been invented. You just don"t see any posts created by someone on your Ignore list.

If this sounds like a good idea, ask CBS to put it in, the next time you hit that "+report abuse" button.

[bobgee_1999]

Just curious: when some dipshit like ____Prophet spams and pastes like this, does this make you like him or dislike him? And if you dislike him, how does that make you feel about whatever gibberish he''s posting? Yeah, me too. Personally, since I''m sick of hearing about Ron Paul, I wouldn''t vote for him. Good job, ______Prophet.

[bluestardad]

GET OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST....

LET THESE ANIMALS FIGHT IF THEY WANT WITHOUT AMERICAN MONEY AND BLOOD!

[southprophet]

THEY DON''T CALL HIM "DOCTOR NO" FOR NO REASON
Congressman, Paul never votes for any Bill which he feels is not authorized by The Constitution, regardless of what it might be named. He feels most Laws should be made at the local or State level: the way our Founders intended. We are a Republic, and we have plenty of State lawmakers who are more than willing to make Laws which best serve their constituents. "Ron Paul is one of the easiest people in Congress to work with, because he bases his positions on the merits of issues," says Barney Frank, who has worked with Paul on efforts to ease the regulation of gambling and medical marijuana. "He is independent, but not ornery." Paul has made a habit of objecting to things that no one else objects to. In 2001, he was one of only three House Republicans to vote against the USA Patriot Act. He was the sole House member of either party to vote against the Financial Antiterrorism Act. In 1999, he was the only naysayer in a vote in favor of casting a medal to honor Rosa Parks. Nothing against Rosa Parks. Paul also voted against similar medals for Reagan and Pope John Paul II. He did, however, offer $100 of his own money to help pay for Reagan''s medal, and invited others in Congress to match his offer, but not one Member took him-up on it. Instead, Congress spent YOUR money. He not only routinely opposes resolutions that are unconstitutional, he votes against Bills which presume to advise foreign governments how to run their affairs.

[westprophet]

HOPE FOR AMERICA: PRESIDENT RON PAUL
RonPaul2008.com

-- No more meddling in other country''s political affairs
-- No more aggressive military actions overseas
-- No more torture prisons
-- No more pseudo-wars like the "War on Drugs"
-- No more IRS and unconstitutional income taxes
-- No more Federal Reserve (the group of private banks which owns our government)
-- No more erosion of Social Security to pay for militarization
-- No more U.N. (one world government) participation
-- No more NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO or GATT (globalist trade cartels)
-- No more North American Union (loss of U.S. sovereignty)
-- No more federal gun control laws
-- No more illegal aliens pouring-in over our country''s borders
-- No more illegal aliens allowed to roam freely in our streets
-- No more national ID cards (Real ID Act)
-- No more government invasion of your privacy
-- No more federal Laws which force you to take unwanted injections
-- No more federal Laws which are not authorized by The Constitution
-- No more federal erosion of State sovereignty
-- No more unlimited federal government

"Wars are poor chisels for carving-out peaceful tomorrows."
- Martin Luther King Jr.

"Commerce with all nations. Alliances with none."
- Thomas Jefferson

"The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home."
- James Madison

[eastprophet]

YOU LIVE IN INTERESTING TIMES
America is tipping way too far back in her easy chair. Something BIG is about to happen, and I predict this upcoming 2008 Presidential Election will be extremely pivotal. I''m not going to name any candidates. You probably already know who my favorite one is. But let me make my point absolutely clear: If you think times are boring, think again. If you think the future is predictable, think again. My advice to everyone who reads this is to be thoughtful. Trust only that wisdom which is your own. 90% of mainstream media in this country is controlled by fewer than 20 different organizations. Unfortunately, they, like the sold-out political ****** who pretend tp serve us in Washington, were bought and paid for by the military-industrial-pharmacutical complex decades ago. Therefore, mainsteam media will paint pictures they want to paint, and people will open their minds to pictures they want to see. So, be skeptical. Be wise. Research issues and talking points on your own, and share what you learn with those you love. The future of your family tree may lay in the balance.

[northprophet]

RON PAUL IS THE NEW WAY
What we need is a President who will show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW way. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50+ years. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of the Middle-East, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas of Presidential candidate, Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. He''s an intellectual who''s published four books, three of which are devoted entirely to sound economics and one to foreign policy. He was raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania as a pious Lutheran, but now he attends a Baptist church. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. Whenever he recollects the helicopter pilots he treated as an Air Force Flight Surgeon (Captain) during the Vietnam War, a war which he now says was "totally unnecessary and illegal," he laments, "They were gung-ho. I''ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and proven track record of adherence to The Constitution, Congressman Paul has always demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky.

[southprophet]

U.S. WAR WITH IRAN?
When I consider the prospect of a War with Iran, I wonder whether or not another major power might be inclined to side with Iran and oppose us. 10% of China''s exports go to Iran and 12% of Germany''s. Also, many countries, including China, are heavily dependent on the 2,836,000 barrels of oil Iran exports everyday. Not a problem. I''m sure those folks won''t mind riding bikes until the war is over. As far as the Iranians are concerned, I''m sure they''re just dying (no pun intended) to be invaded, er, I mean "liberated" by Americans, considering the horrid 70% approval rating of Ahmadinejad and the terrible $8,700 gross domestic product per capita there (8.6% better than China). I''m sure we''ll be welcomed in the streets after we "shock and awe" their all important looking buildings to Jahannum and back. When I compare U.S. military numbers with Iran''s, what I find is truly alarming. The U.S. has 2.37 million soldiers ready for combat. Let''s compare that with little ol'' Iran, which has more soldiers available for combat than any country in the entire world. Actually, Iran has more combat-ready soldiers (11.7 million) than China and Russia combined. Talk about hell! The bottom line is that America can''t even handle Iraq. At one point, we thought we could rush in, smite some nubs with dirks and bubble on back home in time to catch the next season of American Idol, but it didn''t quite work-out that way. Did it? With Iran, reality is going to hurt a lot more.