To the Point

Bush Calls for Israeli Withdrawal

As Israeli tanks continued to roll into Palestinian towns, President Bush declared today that it's time for those incursions to stop. His announcement that he will send Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region next week comes after days of outside criticism and conflict within his administration. Without confining his call to peace to Israel and the Palestinians, the President also issued a warning to other nations in the region. After a BBC update on the latest events in the Middle East, we get reaction from the Israeli government and a Palestinians human rights organization. We also engage two political pundits in a lively debate on the wisdom and timing of America's deeper involvement in the peace effort. Newsmaker: Bush to Send Powell to Middle East Defending Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism, President Bush today called on that country to end its military incursions into Palestinian Territory and begin a withdrawal. He also announced that he will send Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Middle East next week. Carl Cannon, White House correspondent for National Journal, attended what turned out to be a surprisingly forceful foreign policy address. Reporter's Notebook: Unbalanced Reporting by Israeli Media The entire world has seen the aftermath of suicide bombings in Israel. This week their impressions have been balanced by images of Palestinians lying wounded in the streets of their cities, with Israeli soldiers preventing ambulances from reaching them. Daniel Dor, professor of communications at Tel Aviv University, laments that biased crisis coverage of Israeli media keeps Israelis in the dark about many of the root causes of the violence.