Chalabigate
"Weapons of Mass Deception"
2005-01-17
Rice 'will take lead on US policy in Mideast'
By Guy Dinmore in Washington and Daniel Dombey in Brussels
January 17 2005
Condoleezza Rice, the incoming US secretary of state, has decided not to appoint a special Middle East envoy for the moment, according to a US official and diplomats.
Ms Rice, who faces her Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, had been urged by Europeans to reflect the importance of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as her foreign policy priority by reviving the post of envoy.
Diplomats remain unsure whether the US will translate its professed commitment to the peace process into a genuine multilateral effort and exert the pressure Europe sees as required on both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The recent transatlantic honeymoon which some sceptics see as more style than substance, and resting too much on the shifting sands of Middle East peace prospects threatens to stall over the renewed wave of violence in the area. For Michel Barnier, French foreign minister, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the single biggest source of strain across the Atlantic. But US officials have sought to dispel such concerns. One said that Ms Rice saw the Middle East conflict as “the central foreign policy issue of our time” and was determined to become personally engaged without appointing a special envoy.
“Her bags are packed. She is a road warrior,” he said. Ms Rice is expected to travel to Europe early next month and again in March to attend a conference on the peace process hosted by the UK. The US administration is preparing a large financial package, to be given directly to the Palestinian Authority, after the London conference.
A lobbyist with close connections to the White House doubted that Ms Rice would engage in shuttle diplomacy. But he said she would be the “overall Middle East policy tsar”, co-ordinating with Elliott Abrams, a neoconservative with close ties to Israel who was her aide in the National Security Council and is expected to remain there.
"But he said she would be the “overall Middle East policy tsar”, co-ordinating with Elliott Abrams, a neoconservative with close ties to Israel who was her aide in the National Security Council and is expected to remain there."
Statements by Colin Powell, the outgoing secretary of state, and other senior officials place the burden of responsibility on Mahmoud Abbas, the newly elected Palestinian president, to control the militants.
“We'll help them with the rebuilding of their security forces, but ultimately it's going to have to be something that the Palestinian leaders do and the Palestinian people do,” Mr Powell said in a radio interview after last week's surge in violence.
A US official said policy over the next year would focus on strengthening Mr Abbas' control over Palestinian security forces and finances, while supporting the planned Israeli withdrawal of settlements from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank in co-ordination with the Palestinian Authority.
The EU has been mostly encouraged by the personnel changes in the second Bush administration.
Robert Zoellick, nominated as Ms Rice's deputy, e-mailed Javier Solana, the EU's chief foreign policy representative who spent last week in the Middle East. “Dear Javier,” he said. “Now that I've been officially announced I can say how much I look forward to working with you.”
“So, we have good friends,” a delighted Mr Solana commented.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/82c514c2-68bb-11d9-9183-00000e2511c8.html
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
January 17 2005
Condoleezza Rice, the incoming US secretary of state, has decided not to appoint a special Middle East envoy for the moment, according to a US official and diplomats.
Ms Rice, who faces her Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, had been urged by Europeans to reflect the importance of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as her foreign policy priority by reviving the post of envoy.
Diplomats remain unsure whether the US will translate its professed commitment to the peace process into a genuine multilateral effort and exert the pressure Europe sees as required on both Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The recent transatlantic honeymoon which some sceptics see as more style than substance, and resting too much on the shifting sands of Middle East peace prospects threatens to stall over the renewed wave of violence in the area. For Michel Barnier, French foreign minister, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the single biggest source of strain across the Atlantic. But US officials have sought to dispel such concerns. One said that Ms Rice saw the Middle East conflict as “the central foreign policy issue of our time” and was determined to become personally engaged without appointing a special envoy.
“Her bags are packed. She is a road warrior,” he said. Ms Rice is expected to travel to Europe early next month and again in March to attend a conference on the peace process hosted by the UK. The US administration is preparing a large financial package, to be given directly to the Palestinian Authority, after the London conference.
A lobbyist with close connections to the White House doubted that Ms Rice would engage in shuttle diplomacy. But he said she would be the “overall Middle East policy tsar”, co-ordinating with Elliott Abrams, a neoconservative with close ties to Israel who was her aide in the National Security Council and is expected to remain there.
"But he said she would be the “overall Middle East policy tsar”, co-ordinating with Elliott Abrams, a neoconservative with close ties to Israel who was her aide in the National Security Council and is expected to remain there."
Statements by Colin Powell, the outgoing secretary of state, and other senior officials place the burden of responsibility on Mahmoud Abbas, the newly elected Palestinian president, to control the militants.
“We'll help them with the rebuilding of their security forces, but ultimately it's going to have to be something that the Palestinian leaders do and the Palestinian people do,” Mr Powell said in a radio interview after last week's surge in violence.
A US official said policy over the next year would focus on strengthening Mr Abbas' control over Palestinian security forces and finances, while supporting the planned Israeli withdrawal of settlements from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank in co-ordination with the Palestinian Authority.
The EU has been mostly encouraged by the personnel changes in the second Bush administration.
Robert Zoellick, nominated as Ms Rice's deputy, e-mailed Javier Solana, the EU's chief foreign policy representative who spent last week in the Middle East. “Dear Javier,” he said. “Now that I've been officially announced I can say how much I look forward to working with you.”
“So, we have good friends,” a delighted Mr Solana commented.
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/82c514c2-68bb-11d9-9183-00000e2511c8.html
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Milton Frihetsson, 23:30
