Since the Six Day War in 1967, what little peace that has been experienced in the Middle East has only been saturated with tension. The Israelis and the Palestinians are consumed in an ongoing situation consisting of cycling attacks and counterattacks. Palestinian violence provokes the Israeli government to enforce harsher regulation of Muslim towns, in return producing more Palestinian violence (Congressional Quarterly). The problem is certainly tragic and has no clear solution. No matter how difficult and frustrating the conflict has proven to be, as the only remaining world power, the United States has the influence to implement a peace process.
During the first months after taking office, President Bush indicated that he would not be following in his predecessor's footsteps; instead he planned to remain uninvolved in the Middle East peace process. While the pressure to intervene in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was increasing, not until the September 11 attacks did the administration's focus dramatically shift to the Middle East. …
