5 Leaders Who Miss George W. Bush

 BENJAMIN NETANYAHU.

AFP/Getty Images

Country: Israel

What he misses: The benefit of the doubt. Netanyahu took power (for the second time) just two months after Obama, but the two have never been in sync. Obama has been far more outspoken than his predecessors on the issue of settlement construction in the West Bank, including the so-called "natural growth" of existing communities, which Netanyahu is determined to keep on the table. "What the hell do they want from me?" he reportedly told an associate after a particularly contentious White House meeting.

The Israeli government claims that a tacit agreement was reached with the Bush administration that would have allowed natural growth to continue. The Obama team counters that no such agreement exists, though Bush's former deputy national security advisor, Elliot Abrams, says that it did.

Despite the disagreement, Netanyahu's team stresses that "there is no crisis" between the administrations and progress is being made on the settlements issue. However the current impasse is resolved, it's clear the United States was far more cautious about issuing ultimatums to Israel in the Bush years.

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