U.S. President George Bush is set to tour the Middle East (ME) in a desperate attempt to erase his misdeeds and criminality in denial of the mess he created but history will throw him in its deepest dustbin that is for sure.

The Independent newspaper in London did not relent on its attack against the U.S. president, calling him the forgotten leader, disowned by his own party.

“The Bush legacy will not be peace in the Middle East nor an end to conflict in Iraq, but it could be a political earthquake among voters so dismayed by the mess he has made of America's foreign policy and fearful of economic recession that they are deserting his party in droves,” wrote the Independent in its front page article on the Bush visit to the Middle East.

“He is the forgotten leader, scorned by his people, disowned by his party. This week George Bush has a last chance to undo the damage done by his presidency as he begins a Middle East tour,” insist the paper.

In addition, the paper said “George Bush will embark on an ambitious nine-day tour of the Middle East…in a last desperate effort to salvage a legacy from two terms in office overshadowed by a catastrophic foreign policy that has earned him the distinction of being one of the worst presidents in the country's history.”

In London, Bush is seen as the chieftain of the real mess his reign as President has created in the past 7 years. He is riled, treated as a leper and booed even by the British and this will be part of the legacy that he will leave when step outside the White House in January 2009.

Bush's trip around the Middle East, only decided upon a few weeks ago, is nonetheless the most ambitious of his entire presidency, wrote the London daily. “It marks a belated decision to step up his personal involvement in the quest for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement. Few see any prospect of securing an agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians but remarkably, this is Bush's first visit to Israel or the occupied territories since becoming president seven years ago,” it said.

Bush will also visit Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt where he said he would consult "our partners in the war against extremists". The war on terror is not turned into a war against Muslim extremists. This is the ever changing slogan by Bush, who called for a ‘crusade’ against Osama Bin Laden and Afghanistan and said Islam is fascist.

While Bush will visit his Arab friends, the reality in Iraq defies the claims made by the Bush administration and its military rulers regarding the situation in the war torn country.

The death rate in Iraq in the past 12 months has been the second highest in any year since the invasion, according to figures that appear to contradict American claims that the troop "surge" has dramatically reduced the level of violence across the country, according to the Independent.

The research, the newspaper says, comes from Iraq Body Count (IBC), which has extensive experience of working in the country, and concludes that deaths outside Baghdad actually rose until September.

However, the group also concludes that the number of those killed in Baghdad, where the majority of American reinforcements for surge operations were deployed, has fallen significantly during the year.

IBC compiles its data from official sources, including the Pentagon, and found that between 22,586 and 24,159 civilian deaths were documented for 2007, with the vast majority of those killed between January and August.

Around 900 US and 47 British troops have also been killed in the past year. General David Petraeus, the American commander in Iraq during the surge, insisted: " We are focusing our energy on building on what coalition and Iraqi troopers have accomplished in 2007. Success will not, however, be akin to flipping on a light switch." But John Sloboda, the co-founder of IBC, said the figures "show beyond any doubt that civil security in Iraq remains in a parlous state".

"For some 24,000 Iraqi civilians, and their families and friends, 2007 was a year of devastating and irreparable tragedy," he added.

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Dan Froomkin on Bush's legacy
written by Kazi Mahmood, January 08, 2008

This is what Dan Froomkin had to say about Bush - "Bush's self-image contrasts sharply with his image among his fellow Americans. More than 60 percent of Americans disapprove of the job is doing, and a CNN poll in November found that 58 percent of Americans rated Bush either a poor president, a very poor president, or the worst president ever.

Bush's view of himself is particularly delusional as he heads to a region that remains traumatized, angry and distrustful on account of Bush's disastrous war in Iraq, his antagonism of Iran and his perceived crusade against Islam.

Read more about comments by Dan Froomkin in Washington Post here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/01/07/BL2008010701413.html

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