Abbas Came To Visit Bush Unprepared

Apparently Bush will not be applying too much overt pressure:

U.S. officials: Bush will wait to present final-status guidelines

Senior U.S. administration officials stressed during meetings last week in Washington with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that President George Bush does not intend at this stage to present guidelines of his own for resolving the core issues of an Israeli-Palestinian permanent peace agreement.

The conclusion of the article was interesting:

Officials who met with Abbas in Washington also said Abbas had not brought along any political proposal of his own regarding the core issues, and had no clear answer when asked by the Americans.

"It was as though he had arrived without a real agenda and without preparing," one official said. "It looks like the internal problems in the PA and the fight against Hamas are causing him to get cold feet," he added.

Considering that Abbas is not doing any real negotiating--the kind that require give and take--there really wouldn't be anything for Abbas to prepare. He just continues to insist on the same things without ever taking anything off the table.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Abbas.