Doubt as Bush set to visit Mideast.

WASHINGTON - With an eight-day tour of the Middle East starting this week, President Bush hopes to spur negotiations among Israeli and Palestinian leaders vowing to make peace and lay the groundwork for two independent states by year's end.

Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for International and Strategic Studies, contends that Bush is not inclined to engage in the level of detail required. "This president doesn't like to tee things up. He's a closer. He likes to close deals," Alterman said. "And this deal is not ready to be closed. It requires a lot of setting up and a lot of tedious work, exactly the kind of work this president thinks isn't his job and doesn't particularly enjoy."

"It's just a simple fact of life," said Anthony Cordesman, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "You can't, as president, leave a legacy in the form of an agenda for the next president. The only legacy you can leave is what you actually accomplished while you were in office. And at this point in time, with effectively a year to go, your legacy is what you've done, not what you would like to do."

Read the article