Posted on 06/27/2006 1:44:38 AM PDT by familyop
PRESTWICK (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Israel late on Monday to give diplomacy a chance to win the release of an Israeli soldier taken hostage by militants in Gaza.
Palestinians in northern Gaza have begun blocking roads with mounds of earth and Israeli armor has massed on the other side of the Gaza frontier as Israel awaits word on the fate of Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by Palestinian gunmen and taken to Gaza on Sunday.
"There really needs to be an effort now to try and calm the situation, not to let the situation escalate and to give diplomacy a chance to work to try to get this release," Rice told reporters who landed in Scotland for a refueling stop en route to Pakistan.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert held Hamas, an Islamist group that came to power in March, and the Palestinian Authority chaired by President Mahmoud Abbas responsible for the assault by gunmen on the frontier with Gaza during which Shalit was abducted.
"The time is approaching for a comprehensive, sharp and severe Israeli operation. We will not wait forever," Olmert said in a speech. "We will not become a target of Hamas-terrorist blackmail."
Rice said there was a concerted international effort to win the soldier's release and that she had talked to Israel's foreign minister and Abbas to seek a resolution.
The United States is Israel's most important ally and also has strong influence over Abbas, who has received consistent U.S. support in his power struggle with a Hamas-led government.
Rice said that if Hamas was behind the raid it would show that the group -- considered a terrorist organization by the United States -- was ignoring international pressure to eschew violence.
"This is not behavior that is tolerable in the international system," she said.
Ms Rice isn't as stupid as one may think. Could well be that she's got multiple plays she's running (I'd count on it).
Diplomacy isn't a dumb thing to do -- particularly if it works. When all else fails, she can always send in the SAS.
I don't agree with her. Prayers for the young soldier.
Never negotiate with terrorist.
Negotiate with Hamas, are you stoned? When the hell has that ever worked? Hell, we buy weapons and train them already due to so-called "diplomacy".
> Negotiate with Hamas, are you stoned?
No.
> When the hell has that ever worked?
When was the last time it was tried?
> Hell, we buy weapons and train them already due to so-called "diplomacy".
Then more the fool you lot: there is a huge difference between negotiating and enabling.
I will never understand why our current administration feels they are justified in using military means to protect Americans from terrorists, but Israel should sit back and take it.
The double standard is nothing more than playing with lives.
You are a more of a fool than I originally thought. Do you own homework screwball.
The USA doesn't negotiate with terrorists on kidnappings. Most other western culture countries don't, either. Why should our Secretary of State Rice demand that Israel do so?
IMO, we in the USA should not be cheating Israel on security in such a way in order to please western Europeans.
ping
Very astute. Well said.
> You are a more of a fool than I originally thought. Do you own homework screwball.
Temper, temper... I've done my homework. Doubt you have.
> The USA doesn't negotiate with terrorists on kidnappings.
I guess you're right, if you ignore Carter's bungled handling of the Iranian hostage crisis.
> IMO, we in the USA should not be cheating Israel on security in such a way in order to please western Europeans.
Or anybody else, for that matter.
Who likes a smartass? I am not playing your pissing contest.
> Who likes a smartass? I am not playing your pissing contest.
Suits me fine.
That's a good point about Carter.
Please read the history behind the "British Mandate" link, if you get the time. It's about the past, but it's good background material for some of the policy we've been seeing. The site lacks citations (references), but there are plenty of keywords to use in searches for finding them.
> That's a good point about Carter.
I've often wondered if there aren't "dots" to be connected between the BCCI and al Qaeda. Do you know if anybody has tried to connect the dots?
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