the passage I quoted by him is a direct quote. He said "Israel is a dried up rotten tree" not the regime in Israel or whatever. Ahmadinejad would like the same thing as Hamas, he would like Israel to no longer exist. If Israel will give back occupied lands that would help marginalize the radicals who want the complete destruction of Israel, so this is a smart move that Bush is advocating and I am pleased and a bit surprised by it. But lets not have any illusions about radical Islam ok. Sure there are many who would be happy to see a 2 state solution. There are also plenty of Muslims who would be satisfied with nothing short of the complete destruction of Israel. Ahmadinejad's rhetoric would clearly place him in the latter camp of Muslims who want Israel to be "destroyed".