Posted on 11/24/2008 9:00:59 AM PST by fight_truth_decay
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday reiterated her belief internal political turmoil in Israel thwarted the Bush Administration in its quest to oversee a final status Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of 2008.
"Even though there was not an agreement by the end of the year, it is really largely because of the political situation in Israel," Rice told reporters in Washington just hours before hosting visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for a breakfast meeting.
She assigned no blame to the Palestinians' ongoing failures to eliminate the threat of anti-Israel terrorism and build the foundations of a viable independent state.
Both Rice and President George W. Bush had previously vowed that an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal would be concluded before the next US president took office.
But Olmert's plunging popularity and involvement in a series of corruption scandals led to his ouster as leader of the ruling Kadima Party in September, a move that sparked early national elections to be held on February 10 of next year and effectively put the peace process on hold.
Olmert is in Washington ostensibly to make sure the next US administration continues on the path forged by himself and Bush, though experts have speculated that the unusual meeting of the two lame duck leaders could be a prelude to strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
"Despite the official agenda consisting of casual talks regarding Israeli-Palestinian peace, F-22 fighter jets and Jonathan Pollard, London's Sunday Times claimed to have the real answer in a report citing intelligence sources who suggested Olmert and Bush will be hammering out final details of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
According to those sources, the prospect of an Israeli strike on Iran's main nuclear facilities before US President-elect Barack Obama is sworn in on January 20 has become significantly more likely.
Last week the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran had stockpiled enough enriched uranium to possibly construct a nuclear bomb the size of that which destroyed the Japanese city of Nagasaki during World War II. That would put Iran months, or at most one year, from fielding a nuclear weapon.
Israel is convinced Obama does not intend to exert the kind of pressure needed to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, and certainly will not exercise a military option..."
It’s the Jooze fault as always.
Sounds like somebody wants a place in B.O.’s admin.
It’s hard to tell whether Condi was that better than Halfbright. Bleh...
...must be something in the water at Foggy Bottom...
Oh, Condi.
Sorry Ms. Rice, but you just lost the last shred of respect that any decent person may have had for you. The blame for the failure to obtain a peace deal falls squarely on the Palestinians who would rather see Israel destroyed eventually than see a genuine peace. The blame for Israel's failure to trust the Palestinians falls on the Palestinians who have spent three generations firing guns and rockets at Israelis, bombing markets and school busses, and otherwise making it clear that any similarity between civilized people and the Palistinian terrorists (whose violent crimes are celebrated by the vast majority of Palestinians) is only skin deep.
To the extent that Israel failed to make yet more concessions in return for empty promises, it was a good call on their part. They have given up land for a promise of peace several times. I don't see why they would want another empty promise - they have more than enough of those.
Iraeli Politics?
You mean, like not wanting to be killed or driven into the sea?
Those pesky Jews...
Close. It's their culture. Pick up a copy of M. Stanton Evans' Blacklisted by History to read about the infestation of the State Department with Communists and fellow-travellers. The place needs to be razed to the ground, then sown with salt.
go away Condi and leave Israel alone
“Israeli peace thwarted by U.S. State Department stupidity and general ineptitude.”
What the headline should read...
Aperson who can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys has no business working at the State Dept.
Rice out clearly must be viewed as positive, even if the whole thing goes to hell anytime.
FoxNews Quote: Bush invited Olmert to a White House meeting as part of his final round of talks with world leaders before he leaves office on Jan. 20. Olmert, who announced his plans to resign in September amid corruption charges, will step down after a successor is chosen Feb. 10. "It's a farewell, a double farewell," said Danny Ayalon, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington. "They will try to sum up a period and cement all the understandings and agreements between the U.S. and Israel over the last eight years." With his time in power running out, Olmert has become increasingly candid, saying Israel will have to withdraw from almost all of the West Bank and parts of east Jerusalem to make peace with the Palestinians. Talk of such concessions was almost unheard of just a few years ago.
Logic dictates the later. Bush is not someone who would dump the result of suggested "secret" strike actions into the lap of a successor. Now, Bill Clinton abstained from any decision during his Lame Duck sessions on national missile defense system ( land-based missile shield )in regard to Russia; even though it is said under lame-duck status a sitting President can exude more power, as free of electoral constraints. Pardons seemed more Clinton's expertise at the time. Putin would rather have had a strike a missile-defense deal with Clinton than President George W. Bush. Clinton was said not to want to "tie the hands of the next president".
I have thought something like that for some time. I gave up on Condi completely (I've been having doubts about her since she arrived at State) when she said something last year about why the current "peace agreement" isn't working. She blamed it on us expecting the Palestinians to quit bombing Israel before we have negotiations. It's too linear.
Now, this is beyond ridiculous. The problem is not the Palestinians bombing their neighbor, the problem is Israel complaining about it and refusing to speak to the people trying to kill their citizens until they stop trying to kill their citizens.
Rush Limbaugh often refers to the State Dept. as a "shadow government" (at least in the Bush admin.), and I think there is something to that. They have an idea of how the world "should" work and that's how they operate. How the world "actually" works, is of no interest.
I recall another time.....when many FReepers couldn’t talk up a Condi VP or even prseidency, enough...
There should be some non-partisan "token" spots, as Obama had said, like working with UNICEF or some title only position where a Republican would be out of sight and out of mind. The more they bite off to chew, the more blame the the Democrats shoulder when things go wrong. Condi has had to deal with a lot of "egos" and "leaks" (CIA etc.)-all partisan politics.
Buh, bye Condi. Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out.
Of course, I’m sure her successor will be just as bad if not worse—even if its Hillary. I have thought for some time that the US [State Dept] imagines all its Middle East problems will go away if Israel vanishes.
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.