"Olmert says he and Abbas were near deal in '08," reads the headline on the front page article in the New York Times in the Jan. 28 edition.Except that it takes a great delusional leap to reach this conclusion from perusing the newly published memoirs of then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.  A more accurate headline would read:  "Olmert blames Abbas for rejecting generous peace deal in '08."There was no real peace deal in the offing, as Olmert ruefully admits.  But leave it to the New York Times and its Jerusalem bureau chief, Ethan Bronner, to bend over backwards to protect and preserve Abbas's phony image as an acceptable peace partner, even when Olmert's own account of negotiations with the Palestinian leader points in exactly the opposite direction.What happened in '08 when Olmert and Abbas were deep into hammering out a possible peace agreement?  Why did the talks collapse?  According to Bronner's version of Olmert's...(Read Full Post)