In this region, George Bush will have failed as few American presidents have before him. His diplomatic record there belongs in the category of pure calamity - his latest visit to the Middle East this week reminds us of that once again.

    In eight years of presidency, he will have succeeded in weakening his Arab allies there and strengthening their enemies. Certainly, Israel will have had in him its most fervent defender. In a speech Thursday before the Knesset, he indulged himself in a vibrant plea for "the chosen's people's land." Mentioning the existence of a Palestinian state only in a far distant future, he preferred to castigate Iran and Hamas - the advance of which he has been unable to counter.

    With Bush, the United States has definitively abandoned the role of strict mediator for that of hallucinating prosecutor. But the most unbelievable thing of all is that he still believes in an agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians before his departure in January. In a success that would eclipse his patent failure to build a democratic Middle East. That was the object of his stay in Egypt this weekend, but no one believes in it.

    So Friday, while he was crashing in on the Saudis to demand more oil for the American consumer, his hosts had trouble hiding their discomfort. Because Bush paid no attention to King Abdullah's peace plan. Because, under his presidency, the Sunnis have been decimated in Iraq and mopped up in Lebanon. And because the Palestinians of Hamas, themselves also Sunni, have long been betting on Tehran.

    The Republican president even took advantage of this trip to play domestic politics. Without naming him, he took aim at Democratic candidate Barack Obama, likening him to those who wanted to "talk with the Nazis" because he believes the United States could benefit from discussions with Iran and Syria.

    The French and the British have, in any case, gotten the picture. After following Bush's lead for a long time, they recently resumed contact with Hamas. Secretly.