The words coming out from the mouths of ministers over the media here is that Condoleeza Rice 'betrayed' Israel and tried to 'steal a vote' against Israel in the UN when her bosses weren't looking.
Here's a bit of background:
Israel's prime minister said Monday that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was embarrassed after being ordered to abstain from voting for a United Nations ceasefire resolution that she helped arrange.
A U.S. official denied the claim.
Israel had described the resolution calling for a halt to the Gaza fighting as unworkable because it did not guarantee Israel's security, and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was key in persuading the United States, a close ally, to abstain.
...Olmert said he told Bush that the United States should not vote in favour, and the U.S. president then called Rice and told her not to do so.
A senior U.S. official disputed the account.
"The government of Israel does not make policy for the United States," the official said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the diplomacy.
and this:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was visibly frustrated when the White House told her to veto a resolution demanding a Hamas-Israeli cease-fire - a resolution she had spent three days negotiating.
and this:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is defending the U.S. decision to abstain on the U.N. Security Council resolution approved late Thursday calling for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Rice said the resolution, approved by all 14 other council members, could have been more supportive of Egyptian-led Gaza mediation efforts.
Rice had a direct hand in the three days of debate at the U.N. that produced the resolution. And, though it contained language the United States had sought, calling for a durable and fully respected cease-fire, the Secretary said Washington had continued reservations about its wording and timing.
In a talk with reporters, Rice suggested the Council should have withheld action until Egypt's mediation effort had produced some specific steps to curb arms smuggling to Hamas.
...The pro-Israel U.S. lobbying group AIPAC Friday...said it was disappointed the Bush administration had, in its words, succumbed to Arab pressure in bringing the U.N. measure to a vote while more promising Franco-Egyptian diplomatic efforts were under way.
I guess she's harassing us, humiliating us.
Harassment? Humiliation? Now, where'd I hear that before?
Ah, here:
On October 11, 2006 in a Keynote Address to the American Task Force on Palestine, Secretary Condoleezza Rice claimed that Palestinian Arabs feel “daily humiliation of occupation.” Palestinians say they feel humiliated and harassed when Israeli authorities search them and their belongings; when they are prevented from “travel[ing] more freely” because of checkpoints, roadblocks, closures, curfews and security concerns.
(and thanks to Eli Hertz for that source)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment