WASHINGTON — President Bush's foreign policy team knew that the meticulously crafted photo opportunities of last week's Middle East summit in Aqaba, Jordan, would almost certainly be followed by grisly pictures from the region when opponents of peace on both sides resumed their deadly cycle of violence.
But the harsh reality of Wednesday's bus bombing in Jerusalem clearly rocked the administration. The bombing, which left 16 Israelis dead, was the bloodiest attack in a week of violence that has killed nearly 40 people on both sides.
"It is clear there are people in the Middle East who hate peace," Bush said. "I urge and call upon all of the free world, nations which love peace, to not only condemn the killings, but to use every ounce of their power to prevent them from happening in the future."