Condi: 'Me? Make A Mistake?'

From an interview with NBC's Andrea Mitchell:

QUESTION: Was it a mistake for the United States to encourage the elections in the first place that led to Hamas? There was a report written by Elisabeth Bumiller in her book, in her biography of you, that you and the U.S. Government were really surprised. You were exercising one more morning and found out that Hamas had won control of Gaza, and that this came as a complete surprise. Was this a failure of analysis, of intelligence, foresight?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, first of all, they won in the Palestinian Legislative Council.

QUESTION: Right.

SECRETARY RICE: They didn’t win the right to go and have an illegal coup against the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. And that’s very important to state, because the legitimate authority was still and still is the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Legislative Council elections were one thing, the Palestinian Authority another.

QUESTION: Was it a mistake?

SECRETARY RICE: No, I believe – what was the alternative? That the people of the people of the Palestinian territories don’t get to vote for representation? I might note also that we were – one reason that people were surprised is that all the predictions, including those, by the way of Hamas, were that the Palestinian Authority would – that the Fatah would, in fact, win in those elections. And I think even some members of Fatah would tell you that what was being communicated there was that Fatah needed to do a better job in showing that it was no longer a corrupt party, a corrupt party of Yasser Arafat, but rather, one that was moving on to better governance. And I think that Salam Fayyad and President Abbas have shown over recent – the recent year or so that, in fact, they are bringing a better life for the people of the West Bank, because they’re not corrupt and they are governing on their behalf.

But you know, the United States was actually not the only one that wanted to see elections in – that would allow Hamas to participate. In fact, the Palestinian people as a whole, the Palestinian legislative – the Palestinian Liberation Organization as a whole believed that those elections had to be open.

Up The Ante, Condi!

SECRETARY RICE: I’m on my way to a meeting with the Secretary General, so I only have one moment. We’re working very hard here for effective action. Obviously, the United States and several other countries have been working very hard to get to a ceasefire. We believe a ceasefire is necessary, but it has to be a ceasefire that will not allow a return to the status quo. Of course – the status quo ante.

Remarks Before Meeting with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Secretary Condoleezza Rice
United Nations Headquarters
New York, New York
January 7, 2009

How ante?

Before the Hamas had tunnels, and Iranian missles that come in four parts so they can be delivered through the tunnels?

Condi Waxes Ecstatic

QUESTION: Is there one moment as Secretary of State that you reflect on where you say, “Wow, that was amazing?”

SECRETARY RICE: Going to Libya was amazing and meeting with Colonel Qadhafi, partly because no Secretary of State had done it since John Foster Dulles. It was really, really extraordinary. So that was a special moment.

QUESTION: And that – that was a product of a lot of work by this Administration to --

SECRETARY RICE: A lot of work by the Administration, exactly.

QUESTION: -- to get him to back off on a lot of things, become less belligerent in the Middle East.

SECRETARY RICE: Right. Well, what it said to me is the United States doesn't have permanent enemies. We can always find a way if countries are willing to make important strategic choices. And Libya decided to give up its weapons of mass destruction and renounce terrorism and paid claims to the victims of the terrorist events. And so it was a good moment. But you know, I’ve had so many as Secretary. I look forward to going back and looking at the pictures.

source

And allow me to remind you of "condhimmi".

Pro- and Anti-Rape

This story

The most talked about honoree of the 2008 Glamour Women of the Year awards was a small child of 10. Nujood Ali, who flew all the way from her native Yemen for the ritzy Carnegie Hall gala, was married off by impoverished parents to a 30-year-old man who raped and abused her.

reminded me of the demand of former Haaretz editor David Landau that the US should rape Israel.

The thing though is that the incoming Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said this at the above event:

"one of the greatest women I have ever seen is Nujood. She set an example with her courage I hope will continue to challenge all of us."

and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said

"I can't wait to meet [Ali]. What an incredible story. That's going to be a great inspiration to talk to her."

So, why is Israel still in trouble? Why do I think that some are trying to rape Israel and no one is very upset?

New Diplomatic Word: Incentivize

Condi Rice on Iran:

SECRETARY RICE: I think there is concern that there will need to be a way to finally incentivize Iran to make a different choice concerning its nuclear ambitions. But this was not an effort to develop a common strategy. It was really the first large meeting. We had an informal consultation in Sharm el-Sheikh. But I think what really did come through here is that these are countries that have very deep interests in how this issue gets resolved, and they want to continue consultations with the P5+1 on how this is all going to come out.

Incentivize?

William Safire, where are you?

How does one incentivize?

Play a piano?

Rice's Perversion of the Historical Chronicle

I continue to zero in on Condi Rice's changes and different emphasis on the US vision of peace between Israel and former Arab terror organizations in her remarks at the United Nations Security Council on December 16, 2008:

...in 2001. At that time, the Camp David effort had collapsed; Israelis and Palestinians were in a vicious cycle of violence; suicide bombers were murdering innocent Israelis in cafes and restaurants and at Passover Seders, leaving the rest of the population living in constant fear; Israeli military incursions left scores of Palestinians dead and wounded, neighborhoods destroyed, and the economy in shambles. No image better captures that desperate time than the siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

And yet, in spite of those tragedies, the cycle of violence continued. Each time a ray of hope penetrated the darkness, it was snuffed out by intolerance. Reforms within the Palestinian Authority in 2003 inspired hope that the Palestinians would finally have the leadership they deserved, and yet these reforms proved to be superficial.

Yet this hope -- and the hope proved to be deceptive. Yet Palestinian elections in January 2005 and Israel’s disengagement from Gaza later that year offered yet another opportunity for progress. But the victory of Hamas, a terrorist group committed to the destruction of Israel, in the 2006 elections in that summer, and then the war in Lebanon, ended that hope.

Finally, in 2007, after Hamas had usurped power in Gaza, it was clear to all that there was no alternative to President Bush’s vision of a state of Palestine and a state of Israel living side by side in peace and security. Building on this new dynamic, President Bush convened the Annapolis conference...

Since that day, Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have bravely demonstrated their commitment to peace through continuous bilateral and substantial negotiations on all the core issues. They made the strategic choice to, as President Bush has said, defeat an ideology of hatred with an ideology of hope. The support of the United States and the international community for the parties’ efforts has not been sustained by false hope or ignorance of the challenges, but by a genuine belief in the sincerity of the parties’ commitment, in the progress they have made and continue to make, and in the prospects for success if they continue down this path.

There is a deliberate perversion of the historical chronicle in these words. Rice is purposely presenting a misrepresentation of facts as well offering a bias, in an attempt to sway opinion against Israel.

Condi: Bush Made 'Sacrifice' in Shoe-Throw Incident

On Iraq at a Press Conference with AP:

QUESTION: Well, I was going to ask that – you believe that the cost in lives and money was -- -- was worth it for the result that we see yesterday that the President had a shoe --

SECRETARY RICE: I think nothing of value is ever won without sacrifice.

Source


Of course, she really meant that the sacrifice was the loss of lives of American soldiers but it was a good quotation anyway.

---------

And from another press conference:

QUESTION: Thank you. Hello, yeah. This is a follow-up on Harvey’s question, specifically what Netanyahu has been critical of in the Annapolis process is the idea that the core issues, all the core issues, should be upfront. And that is very much in this proposed resolution. What do you think of that?

SECRETARY RICE: ...I’m not going to get involved in internal Israeli politics. They’re in an election campaign. The Israeli people will make their choice. They’ll debate all of these issues as is befitting a great democracy, and so I won’t comment on any specific comments that various parties have made.

I will simply underscore again that, as the President has said, President Bush has said, and as Annapolis acknowledges, it is really only possible to get to peace through dealing with all of the core issues. And that is why Annapolis lays out what it lays out. But I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to comment on any specific statements that people have made during this time.

Condi Thinks The PA Is "Decent" Or Is She Indecent?

More from that Condi Rice-Wolf Blitzer CNN Interview:-

QUESTION: Is it [Annapolis] a failure, then?

SECRETARY RICE: No, of course not. We said we would make every effort. But look at where we found this thing. We found the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in full force with a second intifada, with hundreds of Israelis and Palestinians dying, with suicide bombings at Israeli restaurants and a Passover massacre, with Israelis running large-scale operations in the West Bank and occupying Palestinian towns, Yasser Arafat stealing the people blind and refusing to make peace.

And now you have a decent Palestinian Government devoted to doing better for its people, at least in the West Bank, with Salam Fayyad and President Abbas. You have the first full-fledged negotiations between these two parties on the core issues, all the core issues, to end the conflict. You have international support for that, including Arab support. After all, the Saudis were at Annapolis under their own flag for the first time. And you have on the ground the training of Palestinian security forces, thanks to a number of generals, including General Jim Jones.

QUESTION: Who’s going to be Barack Obama’s National Security Advisor.

SECRETARY RICE: Yes. And you have now decent Palestinian security forces deploying in places like Jenin and Hebron and Nablus. This is a fundamentally different situation than we found. And because of the strong support of President Bush for Israeli security concerns, Ariel Sharon, who was brought to power not to make peace but to defeat the intifada, said that Israel must divide the land. And for the first time, you have a broad acceptance in the international community that a two-state solution is the only solution.

QUESTION: So you think that there’s a potential there --

SECRETARY RICE: I absolutely do.

Decent?

Condi, you're being indecent.

Rice: "The Iranians Have to be Stopped"

Condi Rice is interviewed by Wolf (Ze'ev) Blitzer:-

QUESTION: Let’s move on and talk about something else in the region, Iran and nuclear tensions, specifically with Israel right now. The Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday this:

“The IDF,” the Israel Defense Forces, “is drawing up options for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities that do not include coordination with the United States, the Jerusalem Post has learned. While its preference is to coordinate with the U.S., defense officials have said Israel is preparing a wide range of options for such an operation.”

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I can’t comment on unknown sources. I don’t know what those sources are. I do know that we’ve had lots of very important discussions, not just with Israel but with states in the region, about the potential threat from an Iranian nuclear weapons program. The international community is focused on it because just that kind of talk lets you know how serious a matter this is.

The Iranians have to be stopped ultimately from gaining the kind of technology and putting that technology into use to build a nuclear weapons capability. And that’s what we’re all focused on.

QUESTION: How much time is there?

SECRETARY RICE: I don’t think it’s worthwhile to try to judge the many different timelines that are out there about when they might achieve that capability. The important thing is that Iran is under a microscope on this issue. Iran is under sanctions on this issue. Many, many companies and banks and institutions are leaving Iran. Iran is becoming more isolated. And there is even a debate in Iran about whether their government’s policies and the isolation that it has brought is worth it.

And so we have built extraordinary pressure on Iran that was not, frankly, there when the President came to office. When the President came to office, nobody really believed that the Iranians were trying to do this.

QUESTION: And you have no doubt that their intent – the Iranians – is to build a nuclear bomb?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I have no doubt that they could have a civil nuclear program tomorrow if they wished. We’ve told them, everyone has told them, that the kind of reactor that the Russians built for them at Bushehr, which is a civil nuclear reactor, with a fuel take-back to Russia, is available to them at any time. So if they want civil nuclear power, they’ve got an option. That leaves only the assumption that perhaps they’re not looking for civil nuclear power, but rather for a nuclear weapons program.

Condi Forgot the Israelis and Jews

Finally, I can say that I now fully understand when Afro-Americans express their frustration at others who, even in innocence, make remarks that seem to them disparaging despite the fact that the utterer of those remarks probably never had any mean intentions.

Why?

Well, here are Condi Rice's words in an aboard-an-online interview:

QUESTION: And do you think that this marks sort of a new era in terrorism in some ways because Americans were singled out, as were other foreigners? Are you afraid that this might escalate and that somehow, this was different from other attacks?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, clearly, Americans were targeted. Brits were targeted; foreigners were, in a sense, targeted by the very targets that they chose. But this terrorism threat has been very deep and growing for a long time. We’ve made a lot of progress against these organizations. But yes, I do think that this is an element that bears watching, and that gives us every more reason to make sure that we get to the bottom of it, and as quickly as possible.

No Jews.

No Chabad.

No Israelis, America's partners in fighting terrorism.

What, we're just "foreigners"?

Did she just forget?

I'm sure the Chabad House event received high-profile coverage and she does receive media updates from her staff.

(or did she have an in-flight imbibe?)

Peres is President, Not Prime Minister

From Condoleeza Rice's press conference today:-

QUESTION: Going back to Annapolis, can you --
SECRETARY RICE: Yes.
QUESTION: -- talk about your meetings with the Israeli Prime Minister this week and give us a sense of where the process stands at this point?
SECRETARY RICE: Yes. Well, again, as – there is still a lot that – even in complicated political times that can be done. The Prime Minister continues his discussions with Abu Mazen and the negotiators continue their discussions. And I think they’re continuing to work to narrow differences. They are continuing to have pretty intensive discussions on all of the issues.
They – you may have noticed the release of prisoners that the Prime Minister recently did in terms of the Palestinians. And the work on the ground in terms of the security forces is moving forward, and I think moving forward in a very positive way. So everybody continues to work to deliver on the goals of Annapolis. The political situation, in general, makes it difficult perhaps to finish an agreement, but there is certainly a lot of work that can be done and we’ll see where they are over the next couple of months.
QUESTION: Can I just follow up a bit?
SECRETARY RICE: Yeah. Uh-huh.
QUESTION: Shimon Peres has been saying publicly that he supports the spirit of this resurrected Saudi peace plan from 2002. Are you getting any sense --
SECRETARY RICE: Yes.
QUESTION: -- that the Israeli Government are at all seriously considering that plan?
SECRETARY RICE: We’re talking about that, because the Arab Peace Initiative – previously the Crown Prince Initiative – does offer a kind of broader framework in which one could understand what needs to be achieved in order to have broad peace in the Middle East, not just the conclusion of a Palestinian-Israeli plan. And I’m very pleased that a lot of good discussions are going on about precisely that, and yes, we are talking about how it might be used.
QUESTION: So you’re supportive of it as it stands?
SECRETARY RICE: Well, I think we’ve been supportive all along. As you remember, the Arab Peace Initiative is one of the elements mentioned in the Annapolis declaration.

Condi, Shimon is not in government and there will be a High Court petition if he doesn't stay out of ongoing politics.

Robust Rice Retreats on Human Rights

From the Remarks of Secretary Condoleezza Rice With EU Secretary General and High Representative Javier Solana, Washington, DC, November 20, 2008

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, how did your meeting with the Libyan Seif al-Islam (inaudible)?

SECRETARY RICE: Yeah, it was just fine. We had a very good conversation just about how to move the relationship forward.

QUESTION: Did you say anything about human rights? I know you raised Fathi al-Jahmi.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you. We did discuss – we did.

QUESTION: And did he –

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you. Thank you very much.

Fathi who?

Fathi al-Jahmi, a leading Libyan dissident awaiting a possible death sentence while being held in solitary confinement in Libya, and who is known to have several life-threatening health conditions for which he is receiving little or no medical care. He is charged with having an unauthorized meeting two years ago with a foreign official -- believed to be a U.S. diplomat -- and campaigners are pushing the Bush administration to do more to secure his release.

Jahmi, 65, a democracy activist in Libya since the late 1970s, has been in and out of Libyan jails and survived an assassination attempt in 1990 when gunmen stormed into his house. A civil engineer, Jahmi had served as governor of Libya's oil-rich Gulf province and as head of the National Planning Committee until 1972. After 1978, when his businesses were nationalized, he became Libya's public face for democracy, free enterprise and freedom of expression.

He was imprisoned in October 2002 after delivering a speech at a conference in Tripoli calling for democracy, a free press and the release of political prisoners. He was released on March 12, 2004, after intervention by Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.)...

Hmmm. Condi was a bit short-tempered there, no?

After all, the fellow is in deep trouble:

He was detained in March 2004 after calling for a free press and free elections in Libya...Despite recent improvements, al-Jahmi's health had substantially worsened following his March 2004 arrest, Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights said...As of March 28, al-Jahmi remained in the Tripoli Medical Center and security officers were controlling access to visitors. Al-Jahmi's hospitalization under guard stems from a May 2006, court decision, which determined him mentally unfit for trial and ordered him detained at a psychiatric hospital.

Meet A Propaganda Expert - In Washington

Welcome to cloud-cuckoo-land.

An insight into Pal./Arab truth squad work:

Lesson One: You can't reasonably expect a people under military occupation to guarantee the security of the occupying forces. Yet since the peace process began in 1993, Israel has insisted, and the world has gone along, that the Palestinian Authority must "crack down on terrorism" while Israel is free to colonize and undertake "incursions."

For instance: The week before Rice's visit, the Israeli Defence Forces carried out 109 searches in the West Bank -- the UN says the IDF averages 105 a week. The incursions actually increased in the Jenin governorate. Rice touts Jenin as an American success story in economic and security terms.

Also last week: A 67-year-old man was killed in the West Bank, and six Palestinians were killed in an IDF incursion in central Gaza that sparked fierce retaliation. The ceasefire Israel and Hamas negotiated in June through Egypt's good offices is still holding - but it is fraying.

That was from someone I've quoted from previously, Nadia Hijab, a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Palestine Studies in Washington D.C.

Let's go over that.

You can't reasonably expect a people under military occupation to guarantee the security of the occupying forces.

So why are 90% of the victims of Arab terror civilians? Why are 95% of the targets buses, restaurants, schools and cars? Why are 90% of the locations of all those acts in pre-1967 Israel? And why did Fatah begin its operation in January 1965, two and a half years before "Palestine was occcupied"? Is it reasonable to kill babies and children?

Yet since the peace process began in 1993,

The peace process started in 1947 when Israel accepted a partition (we'll skip the 1922-23 Partition (Jordan) and the 1937-38 Peel & Woodhead Commission Partition plans) and the Arabs didn't and after 1967 when Israel offered to yield on all but Jerusalem, and the Begin Autonomy Proposals and Madrid - all rejected by Arabs and met with terror, not resistance.

Israel has insisted, and the world has gone along, that the Palestinian Authority must "crack down on terrorism" while Israel is free to colonize and undertake "incursions."

Actually, that sounds fair. If you don't keep to a bargain, why should we? Can Arabs continue to colonize Israel and we Jews can't live in our homeland?

... The incursions actually increased in the Jenin governorate. Rice touts Jenin as an American success story in economic and security terms.

My point exactly. Those American trained security personnel are worth next-to-nothing.

...and six Palestinians were killed in an IDF incursion in central Gaza that sparked fierce retaliation.

That raid was to destroy a tunnel to be used to kidnap more soldiers.

The ceasefire Israel and Hamas negotiated in June through Egypt's good offices is still holding - but it is fraying

Because of Hamas's encouragement and sponsorship of terror.

That wasn't too hard to demolish.

But I bet you that Condi Rice thinks sort of like this

Haven't I Been Warning You?

Olmert, Livni Opposes Rice's Plan for UN Vote on PA Sta

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni have voiced opposition to a plan by outgoing United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to sponsor a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the establishment of a new Arab state.

Israel Channel One television reporter Ayala Chasson reported that the government is concerned the proposed resolution will be slanted against Israel and that Secretary Rice wants it passed as a show of achievement before leaving office.

That combined with this-

NBC news quoting two Obama advisors saying that Obama was considering Sen. Hillary Clinton for the position of Secretary of State. Clinton was seen taking a flight to Chicago Thursday, NBC reported, though that was reportedly for personal business, though it did not preclude the possibility of a meeting between Obama and Clinton, NBC reported.

The Obama campaign did not immediately return a request for comment on whose motorcade preceded Obama's out of the underground garage beneath the Kluczynski Federal Building Thursday evening.

Too many women, to little basic understanding of Mideast politcs and history.

Condi - Jenin, It's Jenin

I've been coming down hard on Condoleeza Rice these past few days during her visit her where she has highlighted Jenin as her success story. (See the links to her statements here and also here) and, for example this remark at Sharm:

The Quartet cited Jenin as an example of the success of reforms instituted by the Palestinian government, and of cooperation between the two sides made possible in the context of the Annapolis process.

Well, another egg on her face:-

IDF soldiers caught a Palestinian in possession of a pipe bomb Monday night at the Taysir checkpoint, near Jenin. The bomb was safely detonated by sappers and the Palestinian was detained for interrogation.

Oh when will they ever learn?

Condi's Great Moral Error

Here's a snippet from the Quartet Statement today as pronounced by Condoleeza Rice:-

The Quartet reiterated its call to the parties to fully implement their obligations under phase one of the Roadmap, including in relation to freezing settlement activity and the dismantlement of the infrastructure of terrorism.

These two cannot be equated and interlocked.

Terrorism has existed since the beginning of the Zionist enterprise. Arab terror does not depend nor is it related to this or that act of Jewish national effort, nor to the amount of territory under Jewish control or sovereignty nor to anything a Jew does, good or bad. Arab terror is the constant.

Arab terror is Islamic, is anti-colonialist, is Marxist or whatever but it is always anti-Jewish. Fatah was Marxist, Hamas is Islamic, PFLP was Leninist or Maoist or whatever. The important thing was that it was against Jews.

Jews could have their homeland partitioned and Jordan created, have what was left partitioned by a Royal (Peel) Commission in 1937, and again by the Woodhead Commission in 1938, by the UN in 1947, etc., etc., etc. But no Arab would agree to any border configuration.

In linking, even semantically, terror and Jewish residency, a great moral error is being made and a political failure is advanced.

The Continuing Condi Confabulation

In her remarks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Rammallah yesterday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice continued to project a problematic policy for Israel as she confabulated(*).

Let me highlight with selections from her words.

SECRETARY RICE: Thank you very much, Mr. President...we know how hard you are working to build a truly democratic Palestinian state. You are someone who is yourself devoted to democracy, and I just want to take note of that.

[a democracy? like what other?]

When President Bush came into office in 2001, and it was a very difficult situation between Palestinians and Israelis, indeed the intifada was raging, large-scale Israeli military operations were taking place, many, many innocent Palestinians and Israelis were losing their lives. [hey, she corrected herself from yesterday. maybe someone read my blogpost?]

...I think that President Bush’s vision of a state of Palestine, an independent state of Palestine at peace with Israel, while it will not come in a single, dramatic moment, it will come because the commitment of the Palestinian and the Israeli people to their peace will not waiver.

[sorry but the commitment of Pals. can never match that of the Israelis who have constantly yielded on territory and security in order to reach peace with all its Arab neighbors as well of the Arab community in the borders of the Jewish national homeland]

It’s critical that in moving forward on the peace process we remember that other pillars were established at Annapolis as well, and those pillars cannot be separated; indeed, the work that is being done on the ground to improve the lives of the Palestinian people, the work that is being done to build the democratic institutions of a Palestinian state, the work that has been done to reform security services and to really improve their capability and to have them be professional security forces. I’m very much looking forward to going to Jenin because I think it is an example of this relationship between security provided by Palestinian forces for the Palestinian people, the willingness to fight extremists...

[but they don't fight extremists!] (**)

...I also want to note that settlement activity, both actions and announcements, is damaging for the atmosphere of negotiations. And the party’s actions should be encouraging confidence, not undermining it. And no party should take steps that could prejudice the outcome of negotiations and the United States will not consider settlement activity to affect any final status negotiations, including final borders. Borders are to be negotiated between the parties in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338...I think we’re on the record about our views of the settlement activity, and that has been American policy in the past. I think perhaps we’ve spoken as clearly about it as anyone, perhaps more clearly, the President and I. And it is going to continue to be the case that settlement activity is inconsistent with the atmosphere that really helps promote negotiations.

[Neither 242 or 338 deal with the rights of Jews to live, settle, thrive, develop and grow in the areas of Judea and Samaria and, indeed, Gaza. The right to do so, despite the bad 'atmosphere' Condi talks about, is enshrined in the decision of the League of Nations: The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish agency referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.]

...And just as Oslo was a basis, Madrid was a basis, Annapolis is a basis. And while we may not yet be at the finish line, I am quite certain that if Palestinians and Israelis stay on the Annapolis course, they are going to cross that finish line and can do so relatively soon.

[and just as the Pals. ignored their responsibilities and commitments as per Madrid and Oslo, they are and will ignore Annapolis]

Condi, what are you talking about?

--------------

(*)

con·fab·u·late (kn-fby-lt)

1. To talk casually; chat.
2. Psychology - To fill in gaps in one's memory with fabrications that one believes to be facts.

(**)

Update from Jenin:

About 600 Palestinian security personnel were deployed in Jenin in May, some of whom were trained in Jordan under an American-sponsored program to back up the forces already there. Most have since been redeployed to other parts of the West Bank, including Hebron.

Lt. Gen. Keith W. Dayton, the United States security coordinator, told reporters that the exercise had been a “great success,” and that the Israelis said they had reduced their incursions into Jenin by about 40 percent.

Down by 40% still leaves 60% terror.

Condi Flubs; Joins the Side of the Terrorists

Condoleeza Rice has turned out to be either insolent, cruel or plain not quite that smart regarding the conflict between Arabs and Jews in the area the League of Nations set aside for the reconstitution of the historic Jewish national home, an area illegally removed by the British Mandatory power and which they Arabs in several wars and riots tried to take away totally.

Yesterday, she met the press and, among other things, had this to say:-

Let me just close by saying that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one that should be resolved and should be ended because it will be so important to Palestinians to live in their own state and for Israel to live alongside a democratic neighbor who can help to secure the peace.

The United States is fully committed to that goal, and I remain committed to that goal until the day that we leave office. But I want to say that I am very grateful that in the last almost eight years now we have been able to move a situation which, at the time when President Bush came to office, was the second intifada, with hundreds of Israelis under siege, with Palestinians dying in large numbers, a situation in which the thought of peace between Israelis and Palestinians was one that was quite distant with the undeniably important, but ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to reach peace at Camp David.

Oh, only Pals. were dying? No Jews?
And weren't a good few of those Pals. dying by their own hand in suicide bombing attacks?

And aren't Jews still dying, stabbed by Pals., shot at by Pals., being rocketed by Pals.? Here, yesterday, before you spoke:

Palestinian Authority terrorists in Gaza fired a Kassam rocket at the western Negev city of Sderot Thursday morning in a continuation of a spate of attacks on southern Israel.

and this morning:

Southerners woke up to another day of rocket attacks Friday, as Palestinian terrorists fired five Kassams at western Negev neighborhoods. The rockets landed in the Sderot, Eshkol and Sha'ar Hanegev regions. No one was wounded and no damage was reported. One of the Kassams landed near a kibbutz reservoir, while a second hit the fence surrounding another western Negev kibbutz. The other rockets hit open areas.

And she continued to "explain" that flub:

I do want to emphasize again that in 2001, when President Bush came into office, we had a raging intifada, we had Israel under siege.

Siege? Just a siege? A bit euphemistic, no? The background to this ignoring of dead, wounded, maimed Israelis is gone, missing from her remarks? No, it isn't. Not at all.

Here's her world-view, in plain sight:

There were still people who talked about, well, there are freedom fighters and then there are terrorists. The President laid that aside for all time.

Ah, but Condi, they are and there still are terrorists. Not freedom fighters at all. You can't just lay that aside. That is the core of the conflict.

And, in ignoring the Jewish dead, Condi, you may have joined the side of the terrorists.

Jenin Again

Condi Rice is off to...Jenin.

...my purpose here is to continue to work on the Annapolis process and all of its elements by going to Jenin to look at and, I hope, to underscore the progress that is being made on the ground in building the institutions of a future Palestinian state, particularly the security institutions where there’s been significant progress, and then continuing to talk with the parties about how they might move forward on core issues.

There it is, that showcase of America.

I claim that all the hoo-ha at Jenin to illustrate that the Pals. are capable of providing enough security for Israel so that it can further withdraw is a facade. They aren't dealing with terrorists and Israel still has to raid.

P.S.

And as for Jerusalem:

QUESTION: Right now, the Israeli Government not formed is a problem, obviously. Are you relieved that Tzipi Livni decided not to form a government with the Shas, which would have been a problem for the Jerusalem question? Instead of – she decided not to form it and to wait for February. Do you think it’s a good sign?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, I’m not going to comment on internal Israeli politics or the decisions that Tzipi Livni made. I would note that the government has remained committed to the process; that she, as Foreign Minister, has remained committed to the process. And I would just state what is obvious: In order to create a Palestinian state, all issues are going to have to be resolved. And that includes – there will have to ultimately be a resolution of the issue of Jerusalem one way or another.

But I can’t comment on and won’t comment on her decision. That was her decision.

The "Fence" - No, Not Israel's; America's

This is the situation in the beacon of Western democracy and civil liberties:-

New Fence Will Split a Border Park

...Friendship Park [Calif.] here has stood out as a spot where international neighbors can chat easily over the fence. Or through it, anyway. Families and friends, some of them unable to cross the border because of legal or immigration trouble, exchange kisses, tamales and news through small gaps in the tattered chain-link fence...

...But in a sign of changing times, new border fencing that the Department of Homeland Security is counting on to help curtail illegal crossings and attacks on Border Patrol agents will slice through the park, limiting access to the monument and fence-side socializing.

In addition to the fence, a second, steel mesh barrier will line the border for several yards on the United States side, creating a no-man’s land intended to slow or stop crossings.

...But Border Patrol officials, who regularly post agents there, said the park had an underside. Although much activity may be innocent, smugglers have taken advantage by passing drugs and contraband through openings. People have even tried to pass babies through ragged metal slats that mark the border on the beach, said Michael J. Fisher, the chief patrol agent in San Diego. The agency now operates a checkpoint to screen people leaving the park.

...“We cannot,” he added, “have it open, not at the expense of reducing the ability to patrol the border.”

The new fencing is part of a 14-mile project to reinforce and build new barriers from the ocean to areas east of the Otay Mesa port of entry. The project includes filling in a deep valley known as Smuggler’s Gulch, a notorious crossing point just east of the park, with tons of dirt, to the dismay of environmentalists...

So, why is Condi Rice, et al., always complaining about Israel harrassing?