U.S. plans talks with Israel, PA on Palestinian state
Condi Rice has descended on the Middle East in what must be the most pointless visit she has ever made there. And, with her track record, that takes some doing.
She wants to conduct a series of talks concerning how Israel plans "to implement the vision of a territorially contiguous Palestinian state in the West Bank." And she hopes to achieve this by meeting with Olmert and Abbas SEPARATELY.
Yes, you read that right. There are no plans for a summit because Olmert refuses to take part in one, so she plans to pop between both sides asking them what they think of the others viewpoint.
It's a stunning example of the Bush administration's total refusal to ever put any pressure on the Israelis to take part in talks in the same way that previous US administration's have been forced to do to in order make any kind of headway with the situation.
Now, it is a matter of public record that Olmert does not want a negotiated solution and would much prefer to impose unilateral borders on the new state of Palestine, assuming that he has any real wish to see such a state in the first place.
Rice, rather than confronting Olmert - at a time when Olmert has been seriously weakened by the Lebanon fiasco and might be more malleable than usual - has decided to embark on a series of utterly useless talks that even she is admitting are likely to end in failure. Oh, she has a diplomatic way of saying this, of course, but make no mistake she knows this is doomed.
Speaking to U.S. reporters before dining with Olmert, Rice acknowledged her approach was cautious and said the chances for quick dramatic progress were low.The woman has a stunning gift for understatement. Indeed, the chances of the non-meetings resulting in any kind of success will be dependent on what each side is prepared to talk about with Condi as opposed to each other.
"My approach has been, I admit, careful. It's been step by step. I have not been willing to try for the big bang. I don't think that that's where we are," she said.
"The question here isn't speed. The question is trying to really move forward toward the establishment of a Palestinian state."
The Israelis have clearly set out their stall:
Israel would like to avoid formulations that will be binding in a final agreement or which deal with issues of serious dispute (most likely, Jerusalem and the refugees).So, not only are the Israelis refusing to meet with Abbas, they are also insisting that, even when they meet just with Condi, that the conversation be limited to only Palestinian "terrorism" and the weather.
Whatever one thought of Henry Kissinger and other persons who have held Condi's office, they had a way of using America's influence to force people to make deals. They had a way of banging heads until adversaries at least hammered out the issues with each other.
Under Condi's visionary plan for the Middle East the two sides don't even meet. That's beyond pointless. Wake me up when she's gone home.
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2 comments:
Kel,
Excellent post. There is a counterpunch article on the suez canal war and how the US used to put pressure, albeit minimal, on Israel then. But even then Israel was unwilling to take pressure and even then the Israel lobby was able to mobilise in Washington and the US at large (I was stunned to read that because most of us think that Israeli influence on US foreign policy started only around 1967). I will scan the article and post it probably late on tuesday; it is paradigmatic of Israel,s dealings with the west and its use of western countries foreign interests to advance its own.
As for Ms Rice, I really don't know what steps she is talking about. Since she is around there weren't any...only of she measn the steps backward.
I'm also amazed that the Israeli lobby were operating at the time of Suez, although they were obviously less successful in those days.
I look forward to reading the article.
And Condi has to be the WORST Secretary of State of ALL TIME. Can anyone name a single achievement this woman has ever made? She NEVER makes the deal. EVER.
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