Bush Does Not Know The Difference Between Diplomacy And Appeasement

It should come as no surprise that President G.W. Bush does not know the difference between ‘diplomacy’ and ‘appeasement.’
Speaking before the Israeli Knesset this morning, (Thursday, May 15) President G.W, Bush assured the Israelis of continuing U.S. support.
Included in his remarks was a not so veiled political attack on Democrat Presidential candidate Barack Obama.
He clearly referred to Iran when he said;
Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.
We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: “Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.” We have an obligation to call this what it is – the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.
Some people suggest that if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of our enemies, and America rejects it utterly. Israel’s population may be just over 7 million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because America stands with you.
America stands with you in breaking up terrorist networks and denying the extremists sanctuary. And America stands with you in firmly opposing Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions. Permitting the world’s leading sponsor of terror to possess the world’s deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
The Obama campaign reacted promptly with its own statement;
“It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence to launch a false political attack. It is time to turn the page on eight years of policies that have strengthened Iran and failed to secure America or our ally Israel. Instead of tough talk and no action, we need to do what Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan did and use all elements of American power - including tough, principled, and direct diplomacy - to pressure countries like Iran and Syria. George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the President’s extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel.”

Interestingly Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in a recent interview in the The Washington Post, had said; “We need to figure out a way to develop some leverage . . . and then sit down and talk with them. If there is going to be a discussion, then they need something, too.”

di·plo·ma·cy Pronunciation: \də-ˈplō-mə-sē
Function: noun Date: 1796
1 : the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations 2 : skill in handling affairs without arousing hostility : tact