I'm a democrat. (Pro-Hillary) That said, what Bush said is just plain common sense. The powers that be in Iran and Iraq murder their own people to retain their power or attempt to regain it. It's not a misunderstanding or a mistake.

If I could have only talked to Ted Bundy or Charles Mason....

Seth, San Francisco, CA

"The English talked to the IRA and the result - peace."
Johann, Munich, Germany

Incorrect, Johann. Terrorists brought down the twin towers in New York and the IRAs traditional source of funding (Gullible Americans) dried up overnight. Ireland's troubles are between catholic and prodestant.

John Meins, Windsor, England

You mention Ireland but fail to mention the YEARS of US negotiations to make it happen, along with Egypt, Isreal, Balkins, and a hundred other places we spent time, treasure, and US lives. Most of these problems in Africa and the Middle East was started by Colonial powers we had nothing to do with.

William, Atlanta, USA

You're missing the point. Look at where Bush was when he used the words.

Bush linked Obama to the spectre of appeasement, the Nazis, and Hitler, while visiting Israel. This is clearly an invitation to American Jewish voters to choose a more reliably pro-Israel candidate.

jim, Ann Arbor, usa

Thank goodness Bush is going. Another year and he would cause WW3.

Gerry, Coventry,

Yes Russell, Cleveland, OH, common sense is frightening!

What is wrong in trying to understand your enemies? At the moment you have no idea why you are disliked, how they plan to attack. Tell me, does that make you feel any safer?

He's not talking about appeasement, is he?

jite, london,

There was a time when diplomacy solved a lot of problems. That was before the top diplomats are now often there because they had been a big donor to the political party. Or some friend of the President
Bush would rather blow people to bits, than try a
different approach..

margie , victoria, australia

those who simply can't countenance talking to 'terrorists' should read up on northern ireland. there, two bitter enemies swore blind they would never talk to the other 'evil' side, resulting in decades of sectarian violence. only after mature, difficult negotiations did a kind of peace ensue.

sarah, london,

Who will the lefties hate when GWB is no longer Pres? How will they tie the next NATURAL disaster to Bush? They are small hate filled people who are obsessed with one person. B.O. seems to think that Beorge is running for Pres in the Republican ticket, instead on John McCain. The man is so confused!

Pete, Longview, Wa., USA

Here are the President's words, no, not GWB's:

"As a nation we may take pride in the fact that we are soft-hearted; but we cannot afford to be soft-headed. We must always be wary of those who with sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal preach the ism of appeasement."

Franklin D. R., Hyde Park,

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, 'Jack Bovington'.

Admiral Horton, Barry, Wales

Jack, Covington: "England. Have you learned nothing from World War II?"

Yes, we learned that those in power in America will profit from it by trading with Nazis and that the children and grandchildren of such people can become president. It was a sobering lesson. It still is. Blinkers, remove.

Dan, London, England

Till US people wake up that US is not "the best country in the world", nothing will change in their lives or world be a safer place. They mised they chance not recognising somebody like Ron Paul!!....Bush, Obama, Hilery or McCain theyre all pupets to Israels lobby groups running US foreing policy

petr vojta, prag, czech republic

Bush - as usual - confuses the facts. In this case Israel is the aggressor so comparing the situation in Palestine with 1938-39 does not make any sense.

Carlos Kleiber, London,

Where did Bush mention Obama ? Where ? Obama is stage managed very well, but he falters when under the slightest pressure. And he is very sensitive to any suggestion. Is this really the man Americans want as President ? Someone who takes offence, even when not mentioned ? His inexperience shows.

Dave, Lincoln,

Poor Bush was only on holiday in Isreal - he woke up in the morning and suddenly thought he was back in the year 1203 AD - with his hero the English King - Richard the Lionheart..
Wake him up, and give him his hand guns so he can be a cowboy again, he does not make a good Knights Templar.

Tom, Verwood, UK

England. Have you learned nothing from World War II?

Jack, Covington, USA

I never thought I would agree with Bush's point, but this guy, Obama, is frightening. His populist rhetoric is for the purpose of winning over last minute, desperate, idealist voters. Let's hope he never executes any of his wild diplomatic solutions.

Russell, Cleveland, OH,

Bush's statement is a clear attack on democratic ideas and policies, not necessarily directly toward Obama. But none the less it shows his blatent ignorance toward other ideas and thinking in the matter of dealing with religious and political extremists other than the idea of going to war.

Ross Williams, Barry, Wales

A basic weapon of political parties when seeking votes is to generate strong emotions using racism, fear, love and hate tactics. Such articles as this should not be published as it gives the politicians axactly what they want. To generate emotions to put doubt into peoples minds.

Jim Wills, Brisbane, Australia

Meh, Bush is right on this, and most people know it.

And if anyone here thinks that Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, and most of the other Islamists in the world will settle for anything less than the total destruction of Israel, they are lying to themselves.

Mary, Toronto, Canada

Bush's version of history is predictably a travesty. Appeasement did NOT fail because Chamberlain sat down with Hitler, but because when he did, he gave him carte blanche, and assured him that there would be no consequences for his actions. Bush, like Chamberlain, misunderstands diplomacy as a tool.

Jeff, Irvine, CA, USA

The English talked to the IRA and the result - peace. The Americans ruthlessly bombed the Vietnamese result - defeat. Talk softly and of course carry the stick, but the order of things is important here. But who would expect Bush to understand? Nobody at all. That who.

Johann, Munich, Germany

To me, it appears that Mr. Obama's criticism of George Bush is an attack on USA itself. Mr. Obama is a senator, we know, but who is he to criticize our president when our president is telling the truth in a foreign country about the genocide committed by the Nazis?

S. Dey, St. Louis< MO, USA

Those who compare Bush's situation with the negotiations Chamberlain had with Hitler prior to the outbreak of WW2 are, IMHO, both naive and ignorant. Britain was totally unprepared to go to war in any way, and Chamberlain's so-called "appeasement" was merely an attempt to "buy time" until it was.

Jim, Vernon, Canada

Bushs rhetoric never ceases to amaze me, someone should educate him about his grandfather being a Nazi banker and sympathiser. This is a clear known historical fact.

Of course George wants to go to war with Iran, its great for the family business!!!!! Wake up little planet... war or peace?

Brett Thorburn, Adelaide, Australia

It's interesting that Bush invokes the term "Nazi" in reference to someone else when just about everything his administration and the mainstream news media has done since 9/11, and will continue to do when McCain is "elected" in Nov., is exactly the same thing the Nazi's did prior to Hitler's reign.

Troy, Loveland, CO, USA

Guy, if talking to Iranians is so useless then you've never tried it. As an American, living in London, I discovered, by talking to Iranians that Palestinians were massacred in Lebanon. Iranians were also the first to alert me to the Israeli policy of bulldozing homes in Palestine. The truth hurt.

Joseph, London, UK

Clearly, Bush told the Knesset what it wanted to hear. However, whichever US president is in office, the only solution to the Palestinian problem is to allow right of return. This should be negotiated with the armed groups, Iran and Syria. Gaza and the West Bank should have secular administrations.

Tony Gold, London, England

Obama needs to wake up. He's a great orator, but he's no Daniel Webster. Talking to Iran for what???? Wasn't the Japanese talking to the U.S. a few days before they bombed Pearl Harbor??? Maybe the Nazi comparison is too much, but everyone knows Bush is a bad speaker.

Jim, Palo Alto, USA

Once you eliminate negotiation as an option the only way to settle a conflict is with violence.

The delusion is to believe that our problems in the middle east can be settled with ever escalating threats and violence.

David L, Cookeville, TN, U.S.A.

Man! Is anybody even listening to George Bush anymore? Even the presumptive repub presidential candidate and the repubs in Congress are backpedaling from him at the highest rate of speed possible.

Aaron, Chicago,

It's the conservative frame of thinking: short and narrow. Negotiation is a good thing; to be stubborn in the international field is to be as truculent as a child.

Tony, Miami, USA

Another reason of the so many reasons Bush should have
never been President.
I hope his ratings go to ZERO!!

Connie, Carson City, USA

The people that know Obama the most, his own campaigners, are the ones drawing comparisons between Obama and Nazi appeasers. No candidate but Obama has mentioned appeasing Iran, a country lead by a man who wants to wipe Isreal off the face of the earth.

Matt W., Pearland, United States

Scary, one wonders whether George Bush considers any negotiations between conflicting nations as comparable to the appeasement of Hitler.

James, London, Middlesex

Bush is the poster boy for Al Qaida and other groups recruiting efforts. If there other attacks, it won't be because Obama wants to bring the troops home or the fact that he wants to have a dialogue with our adversaries. Eight more months and things will change.

John, CHICAGO, USA

Bush needs to fire his secretaries of state and defense, both of whom have pushed to sit down with the Iranians. Who are the "appeasers" now? We know who his comments were directed at. So typical of someone who has others fighting his battles, without the guts to directly confront Obama.

Martin , Chicago, USA

Obama is a smart man, but negotiating with Iran, Syria, and Palestinian terrorist organizations will get the western world nowhere. Look at what Hezbollah did this last week with west Beirut and what these countries preach. These leaders don't value life, not even their own.

Guy, Cambridge, UK

I don't think it's right to criticise Bush for what he said; after all, he didn't make any grammatical mistakes in that particular sentence...

Ken, St. Germain en Laye, France

Actually, it was Senator William Edgar Borah who said "Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Edgar_Borah

Robin, Ottawa, Canada

'By the way - although appeasement is not good - it is better than defeat.'

appeasement, Jon Michael, IS defeat.

Mr Bush is spot on.

Chris, Walsall, UK

I think the US/Israel should negotiate with whoever they need to negotiate with to obtain a fair just peace in the region. In the next 50 years energy will increasingly be a national policy priority, and, sacrificing Israel to achieve its objectives would certainly not be beyond the US!

Kevin Sullivan, Roehampton,, UK

Interesting.

Commentators previously noted that Obama was most angered by personal criticism by his spiritual advisor Rev. Wright. He was described as "thin-skinned"

Sounds like deja vu. I hope when he meets with Irans leaders.. President Ahmed doesn't call him names : )

petras vilson, ottawa, canada

"as if some ingenious argument will persuade them ..."

Ingenuity has demonstrably NOT been a quality of the Bush facist Neo-Con thinking. Bush could not in a million years imagine what ingenious agument President Obama would make to Iran, Cuba, N. Korea, etc. That's been the prolem all along.

Holly, Sarasota, Florida

Who cares what Bush thinks anyway? The sooner he is out the better and hopefully Obama will get his chance. A new approach may put an end to the hatred that is aimed at the US from certain parts of the world. We don't need any more war mongers at the moment.

Paul, West Midlands,

Bush is right, where do sanctions and talking get you? Did Saddam go without Saville Row suits or does Mugabe go without his Mercedes Benz while their people were starving due to UN sanctions? NO, the only way you get tyrants out is to kick them out.

CW, Sheffield, UK

Obama in reality is americas saviour.because if america keeps traveling on its current path, a lot of americans/humans will end up dead. America needs a real man and not another trigger bomb oil happy bush, i hope that man is obama. how many people have died because of the bushs?1 2 3 4 5 6 7million

Ash, leeds, uk

Bush has been a disaster for Israel. By attacking a secular Iraq, he has added immeasurably to the status and role of Iran in the region. The balance of power has gone and now we have a dominant Shia majority in the region.

By the way - although appeasement is not good - it is better than defeat

Jon Michael, Cape Town, South Africa

Janis in Cape Coral: Can you please cite your sources for these claims you make?

Rory, Taylor, USA

I think the fact that Obama is biracial would be an asset for the state of Americas middle eastern foriegn policy, if any candidate has a chance to heal Bushe's war it would him.

marcus, leeds, uk

If Mr. Bush were a freedom fighter, he would fight for it here before attempting to do it abroad. PERIOD.

Patrice, Norwich, CT USA

Bush made a general statement, he did not attack anyone. Why Obama choose to take this personally - well the only person who can explain that is Obama.

None of us should be held to account for what our grandparents did or did not do.

Gini, New York City, USA

Bush has been a disaster for Israel. By attacking a secular Iraq, he has added immeasurably to the status and role of Iran in the region. The balance of power has gone and now we have a dominant Shia majority in the region.

By the way - although appeasement is not good - it is better than defeat

Jon Michael, Cape Town,

For the first time in eight years I actually agree with George Bush.

Robert, Toronto, Canada

Appeasement row? That's good news. Last week Obama said he had already campaigned in 57 states. Then he added that he had only two more to visit. Yesterday, he said we needed more Arabic speakers for our forces in Afghanistan. This guy gets away with everything because mainstream media love him!

Janis Prinkalns, Cape Coral, United States

"Mr Bush is the world's biggest freedom fighter." -- Tim, Leeds, England

Really? I've never seen him fight? He hides behind his troops. Terrorists who hide behind women and children are called cowards. What does that make Bush?

jayil, london, uk

Mr Obama would be the Chamberlain of our era, promising "peace in our time" as he returns from the Middle East, the worthless words of tyrants tucked under his arm. Whence the Churchill to save the world then?

Stephen, London,

“as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along,”

- Maybe Mr Bush would do himself a favour saying that into a mirror.

Rory, Stroud, England

To Jayil, London: Mr Bush is the world's biggest freedom fighter.

Tim, Leeds, England

My warning to all Americans, is we thought Tony Blair walked on water when we voted him into office. Look at us now.

Arthur, Newcastle,

Broughton: The problem in the middle east won't go away. It won't even go away between Israel and the Pals. The PLO was formed for the destruction of Israel before the occupied territories were occupied. It is a step that needs to be done, though. The real problem is Islamic fundamentalism.

Dan, London, England

"the President said Democratic plans to withdraw from Iraq could prompt another terror attack on the United States."

How quicky he forgets about the terror attacks -real and threatenned - on European countries to get them to withdraw their military from Iraq.

P D Cunningham, Camden, USA

What a disgrace to the office. The man should have been impeached years ago. Luckily for us all, he only has 8 months left in office.

Bill, Denver , USA

NEVER, EVER NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS OR A TERRORIST REGIME. They never play by any rules but their own which are constantly changing as history has proved time and again. Rather obliterate them one way or the other, e.g. economically or politically, and if all else fails, literally.

B J Deller, Marbella, Spain

".. an American senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, .." Would that US Senator have been Prescott Bush - George W's grandaddy?

"People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" George. Ergo - US politicians whose families benefitted from NAZI collaboration.

Larry, Middletown,

I'm not sure if it matters what Obama's stance is today... it becomes instead what ever is popular tomorrow.

"Young men's minds are always changeable, but when an old man is concerned in a matter, he looks both before and after."
Homer (800 BC - 700 BC), The Iliad

D Griffing, Naples, Long Beach

Please show me where Bush named Obama. Obama seems to be super sensitive.

Nona, New York City, USA

Daphne, even if that was the case it was well before Hitler's tanks rolled into Poland. During the war hitler didn't have enough oil or control over the oil supplies. Bush's grandpa had little effect on the war.

Bryan, Houston, Texas, USA

Mr Bush is the worlds biggest terrorist.

jayil, london, uk

hamas does want obama to win...so does iran syria hezbollah and most terror loving people who feel Americas leadership rolein the world has come to an end.. America deserves a hero!!!
VOTE McCain.

amit, LosAngeles, US

Perhaps MR Bush would do better to explain his families involvement in oil supplies to the Nazis during the 2nd world war to make money. Oil to keep the Nazis war machine against europe. It is well documented, it needs to be published in the American News Media to Educate Americans.

Daphne Kenward, Cambridge, UK

Until Israel stops builing settlements on Palestian land and gives Palestian people the land they own and have a right to the probelm in the entire middle east will not go away

broughton, MaidenheadUK,