When God met George

The Guardian carries an article by Norma Percy the maker of Elusive Peace, the BBC documentary supposedly detailing the events of the last eight years in the fraught history of the Arab-Israeli peace process. This last episode contains the, now famous, when God met George moment.

Nabil Shaath says: "President Bush said to all of us: 'I'm driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, "George, go and fight those terrorists in Afghanistan." And I did, and then God would tell me, "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq …" And I did. And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, "Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East." And by God I'm gonna do it.'"

Norma Percy is confident that this is a faithful report on what Bush said to the Palestinian leaders. Is it possible that Bush was simply trying to convince them that he was serious about a peace process whereby he has already declared his support for Sharon's, indeed, zionism's, Greater Israel? Remember these are the same Palestinians who placed all their faith in Oslo.