Posted on 02/02/2006 6:22:22 AM PST by Wuli
In reaction to the victory of Hamas in the Palestinian elections, Condoleeza Rice's response was:
"She's [Condi] asked her staff to look into that. Why is it that we didn't see this coming?"
I am sorry all you Condi supporters, but this is extremely disconcerting.
It is completely indicative of someone living in the policy wonk world of the State Department, getting 99.99% of their news and "analysis" from that world and clueless as to what is actually going on. 9/11 was the result of 40 years of that kind of myopic foreign policy thinking.
"Didn't see it coming?? Let's see -
(A)the Palestinians more than anyone saw the years of constant corruption and corrupt cronyism of Arafat and his lackeys; so we can conclude that the state department simply ignored how deep that corruption was and they ignored how well it was known and resented by the average Palestinian; they accepted the Arafat/PA media presentation of who and what Arafat and the PA were (NOT);
(B)without their public figurehead, Arafat's lackeys were more concerned about divying up the spoils and the perks of the PA, and the Palestinian people knew that as well; if how the PA managed the "takeover" of Gaza did not bring that to light at foggy bottom, then nothing would have;
(C)for all its moral and political corruption, Hamas:
(1)was not associated organizationally with Arafat or the PA,
(2)spent millions every year on Palestinian welfare and charity institutions, buying the support of millions of poor Palestinians and
(3)never adopted the "we will recognize Israel" position that Arafat and the PA adopted in the Oslo accords;
and finally -
(D) the "street" in the Palestinian territories credited Hamas and its terrorism as having secured Gaza from Israel.
And Condi, in what I can only look at as ignorance, says : "how did this [Hamas wins election] happen?".
It is apparent that you could not learn these things working at the State Department.
I am no more fond of "the media" than the next Freeper, but there is a difference between not being fond of the media and not believing all the media says versus being totally uninformed and clueless.
To recognize the biases in the media is one thing, but to turn all outside, independent information off; to not be informed beyond what only your staff and your bureaucrats tell you; to not seek information and analysis beyond the confines of those who are trying to shape your opinions, and still make public policy is the equivalent of having your head buried in bureaucratic quicksand. It's dangerous.
It incredible organizational and political skills plus experience to even think of running for POTUS
Of course, it was taken nout of context, it was a snippet of everything she said to her staff and that snippet was relayed to a reporter by some disgruntled Lifetime state department hack to attempt to show how ineffective she is.
It was a stab in the back by one of those burned by her comments. Any fool could see it for what it is.
Well almost any fool.
Ah...no that would be incorrect.
Wuli signed up 1-27-2005........
FWIW-
Well said. But I can understand the Hamas' election outcome as purported by Wuli.
I'm the one who thought a WWII war hero would defeat a Draft Dodger for President!
Any fool could ignore the extent of how "in context" the comment was (given by her spokesperson), with respect to the subject of the offical State Department investigation that Condi demanded, to find out why she/they were blindsided by the Hamas victory. Although I am not sure who are the bigger fools; those who were blindsided by Hamas victory or those who ignore Condi's admission of their being blindsided in her demand for an investigation of it.
You still just don't get it, do you?
It's a hit piece, a stab in the back by some disgruntled career diplomat whose job is on the bubble because they F--- ed up.
It can be said that no democrat ever foresaw Bush winning over either Gore or Kerry. That's politics.
So is Hamas's victory. Personally I see the Hamas's victory as a blessing in disguise, They will either have to learn to live with the Israelis or they and Fatah will end up killing each other in a battle over the control of the purse strings.
In the end I see them as getting their asses handed to them from either the Israelis or Fatah.
And me, you, Condi, and the President can really do nothing more then watch and hope until someone over there gets their heads screwed on just right.
And who are you going to blame for that?
Thank you for the link. As I suspected, wasn't Condi that said it but some other geek at State. The stuff that comes out of that dept. isn't meant for domestic consumption. When the State Dept. is credited with saying something, I either ignore it or try to read between the lines.
Thanks.
I enjoyed your soliloquy, but I guess you must have missed the fact that Israeli intelligence didn't see the Hamas victory coming either. Nice try though...
No, and you didn't either. He pecked her on the cheek albeit close to her mouth, but nevertheless it was her cheek.
The fact that Condi asked for an investigation of how she/they were blinded by the Hamas victory; that fact is a "hit piece"? Sorry, her decision to have that fact - they were blindsided - investifated, is an admission that they were, and she is ultimately responsible for that. Has she disavowed her investigation or the State Department spokespersons' quote attributed to her? No. Neither. She/they were blindsided and she admits that.
The fact that Condi asked for an investigation of how she/they were blinded by the Hamas victory; that fact is a "hit piece"? Sorry, her decision to have that fact - they were blindsided - investigated, is an admission that they were, and she is ultimately responsible for that. Has she disavowed her investigation, or the State Department spokespersons' quote attributed to her, in the annoucement of that investigation? No. Neither. She/they were blindsided and she admits that, by the organization response she requires her department to take.
I was not commenting on the pluses or minuses, down the road, of the Hamas election victory (time will tell) nor was I "blaming" Condi or anyone for that turn of events. My comments reflected my chagrin that Condi was surprised by it and her mounting an investigation about that surprise reflects that the possibility was not even given any serious consideration; while I seriously believe no one should have been surprised and, more importantly, the possibility should not have been left out of consideration, with plans beforehand for dealing with the aftermath of it. Again, in a major foreign policy matter, our foreign policy apparatus, and its leader, is left without previously considered direction to respond to events that we were fully capable of anticipating.
It will not be Condi. She will not run, because she will not chose to run and any draft Condi movement will not reach much beyond the blogosphere. It's not that I don't like her, I do. I like Harriet Miers, but I am glad her SCOTUS nomination was withdrawn.
I disagree strongly.
If we look at the front runners in the party now, we see the following:
Allen/Pataki/Romney - non-entities, unkonwn, cannot appeal to "swing-voters" (i.e. those seeking merely to be bribed or too dumb to hold any opinion older than 5 minutes).
McCain - obviously driven by ego, loudmouthed, ready to betray anything considered "conservative" if it gets his name and face on the nightly news. Military experience: having three aircraft shot out from under him (and one of those while still on the deck) and being a POW for six years. Just the man to lead our military in it's current mission! Unfortunately, this is probably the man who will get the nod.
Gingrich - former Speaker of the House, knows the lay of the land in Washington, but has baggage. Beloved of conservatives, he would be a great VP for anyone who finally takes the nomination.
Guiliani - great leader, very well liked and appealing, can't get past the anti-abotion/2nd Amendment zelots on the extreme right of the party (i.e. those that control the money and the super-delegates).
That leaves us with Rice. She's been up to her elbows in the War on Terror, North Korea and Iran. She's an appealing candidate (smart woman, well spoken, and black to boot!).
Whether or not she actually accepts a nomination, is, of course, a different story. She's just a very logical and attractive alternative at this time.
Guess what. I couldn't find it!!!
"Hindsight is no substitute for wisdom".
Condi wants to be Commissioner of the NFL.
As I said, she will not run because she is not going to chose to run - I'll take $million bets on it.
The primaries will not be held for another 24 months.
New events, continued fundraising in primary-critical states, continued networking in the party and among major contributors, between now and then will bring Allen as much national recognition as is needed for the primaries and the primaries will produce his national recognition needed for the general election.
My money, at this point is still on Allen.
That said, I did say in this forum some months ago, that I believe the final leading GOP candidate will emerge in response to some major foreign policy-related event that occurs before 2008, or no later than early 2008. Maybe it will be Iran, maybe Taiwan, maybe Korea, maybe Israel. I think the foreign interests in those areas, one or more of them, will produce an event, or events requiring a new major foreign policy choice or choices. Those choices will entail foreign policy response requirements that are either not yet contemplated or not yet required. The GOP candidate will be the one who satisfies the most people in the GOP with their position on our response to those as yet unforseen events and their ability to articulate that position. It is those events that will allow any candidate to focus, for the people and to the people, their capabilties by their reaction to something real, something now, something important.
I am not making any prediction about anything particular, it is just my sense that any single one, or all, of the foreign policy flashpoints I cited may be on the cusp of a major new benchmark.
I think Allen could still be the one that rises in the GOP, in response to those events, in 2008.
see: http://www.insightmag.com/Media/MediaManager/hamas.htm
and in that article you will find:
Over the last four weeks of the election campaign, the State Department's Agency for International Development spent more than $2 million in a propaganda campaign meant to bolster Fatah. Most of the campaign consisted of ads in the newspapers of U.S. projects in the Palestinian Authority (PA).
Officials said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been the one most embarrassed by the Hamas victory. They said Miss Rice pushed Israel hard to enable Hamas, an organization on the State Department's terrorist list, to participate in the elections and campaign in Jerusalem, deemed the capital of the Jewish state.
"Maybe we didn't have a good feel for the political pulse of the Palestinian people," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said. "So she's asked her staff to take a look at that, why it is that that happened, why it is that this was missed."
Miss Rice also rejected a request from Mr. Abbas to postpone the elections, officials said. They said Mr. Abbas telephoned Miss Rice about a month before the election and expressed fear of a Hamas victory.
Rejected Abbas? Like he was "uninformed"??Why? It's called bureaucratic inertia and Condi was caught up in it. Her staff was already investing in Fatah and even Abbas could not disuade her from her belief in the self-serving assurances of her staff.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.