This implies a major shift in our "diplomacy".
.."The best diplomat I know of is a fully charged phasor bank"
Posted on 07/16/2006 10:12:09 AM PDT by Esther Ruth
Rice: No point in temporary ceasefire
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice backs Israel's military operation in Lebanon; US government says it has agreed to supply Israel with jet fuel to feed its warplanes Yitzhak Benhorin
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned that for the time being the United States is not interested to assist in negotiating a ceasefire.
There is no point in achieving a ceasefire so long as Hizbullah and Hamas are capable of firing rockets at Israel, and by doing so to breach it.
In a series of interviews to large American television channels, the secretary of state added that this is not the right time to make diplomatic trips to the region to solve the crisis.
"Extremists in Hamas, Hizbullah, and their supporters in Syria and Iran do not want to see a resolution of these situations on the basis of 1559 and the road map, because then they would have no reason for violence," Rice said. The US government will object the reaching of a cease-fire at the G-8 summit or at the United Nations.
'Defend yourself'
Speaking to FoxNews, Rice reiterated the American stance which was voiced by President Bush since the crisis started.
"Our message to Israel is, look, defend yourself," Bush said. "But as you do so, be mindful of the consequences. So we've urged restraint."
"What you had in the Middle East before was American policies - bipartisan, by the way, it had been pursued by Democratic Presidents and by Republican Presidents - that engaged in so-called Middle East exceptionalism and was pursuing stability at the expense of democracy, and it turned out, as we learned on 9/11 or July 7th here, or in any - in London or across the world, was getting neither," she said.
The Pentagon notified Congress of plans to sell Israel jet fuel valued at up to USD 210 million "to keep peace and security in the region".
"The proposed sale of the JP-8 aviation fuel will enable Israel to maintain the operational capability of its aircraft inventory," the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in notice required by law.
It said Israel had requested the sale, but did not say when the request was made.
"The jet fuel will be consumed while (Israel's) aircraft (are) in use to keep peace and security in the region," the notice to Congress said.
It said the sale - which Congress may block if both houses were to enact resolutions rejecting it within 30 days - would not affect the basic military balance in the region.
(07.16.06, 19:04)
Bravo to Rice and Bush.
Whether the MSM like it or not, this reminds me of President G.W. Bush in his 1st term: "Bring it on."
About time!
Bravo! Someone finally figured out that to these enemies, "ceasefire" means "rearm and regroup".
I don't think we should sell Israel the fuel. I think we should give it to them. Take it out of the UN budget.
"Take it out of the UN budget"
Good idea.
Ms. Rice it seems has changed her tune when it comes to Israel or is that just an illusion?
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright criticized the Bush administration for not getting more involved in the crisis in the Middle East and said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should leave the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, and begin Mideast shuttle diplomacy.What a maroon!
Any peace that leaves Hezbollah and Hamas still operating in any country bordering Israel, is a peace that guarantees that the war will go on endlessly.
The entire purpose of war is to re-create the facts on the ground so that peace becomes possible. The previous status quo led to war; a return to status quo ante means a return to the very conditions that led to war.
The killers have to be eliminated from the equation, expelled or killed where they stand; buffer zones need to be established, borders may need to be withdrawn.
And serious attention needs to be paid to the Assad regime. While Assad remains in place, the situation is bound to eventually return to the way it was. Destroying Hezbollah may give Lebanon a chance to become the buffer state Israel needs, but bringing down Assad finishes the job.
Translation: Kick the Shite out of'em but, try not to kill too many civilians.
A refreshing and admiral stance by my country toward Israel. (for a change)
She never changed her tune. What happened was that she concluded that the Iranians had no intention to seriously consider her May 30th initiative. Why not take the Hezboallah chess piece off the board now while we can? If the Hez are degraded so that they are of no use to the Iranians, that is one less weapon that is available to Ahmadhi-Nejad down the line. Condi has told Bush that diplomacy is at an end, and that we are in a pre-conflict phase with the Iranian government.
It is refreshing to see clarity from Rice while errant nonsense springs from the likes of Albright and Biden.
Has anyone noticed the utter silence from Hillary? She's polling, obviously.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
Hezbollah and Hamas have lost their major weapon - victimhood.
There will be no peace with Hamas or Hezbollah until their fighters are dead and all we hear is the lamentations of their women and children...even then the IDF will have to keep an eye on them.
Exactly! It's time to let them fight it out and let thing follow the natural course. When one side has an overwhelming victory over the other things usually resovle themselves. A little natural selection is good from time to time.
Remember BJ had his daughter drawing up the boundries in his Piece Legacy negotiations. He had no idea as to what an insult it was to have a girl in the room, let alone negotiate. What a Marroon!
Bush has it right, we'll hold your robes and turbans; let us know when your finished.
Pray for W and Our Troops
Shalom Israel
What Rice and the President ALWAYS do is give the squawking appeasers what they want, and when it of course fails, the enemy collaborators have lost their talking point.
No cease fire until Israel says they have finished.
This implies a major shift in our "diplomacy".
.."The best diplomat I know of is a fully charged phasor bank"
Plain talk from Rice and high time, too. BTT.
Sec. Rice's tune is Pres. Bush's tune. While calm more or less prevailed, it was her job to offer the carrots. Now it is time for the stick, and Pres. Bush's policy is "use it, but be mindful". Sec. Rice is just doing her job in saying this.
Looks like Condi finally found her voice
It sends a mixed signal. If there were no differentation in our posture by backing Israel, countries like Iran, Syria and such would not feed upon the words spoken by our leaders. Those countries use the MSM and those words to their advantage. Nothing sends a clear message as we are going to kick your ass into oblivion!
Nice to hear someone in a high position in the administration finally state it clearly and publicly.
They don't want peace. Never have. Never will.
Cut all aid to countries which are really our enemies, and use it for worthwhile projects, such as supplying Israel with jet fuel, ammunition, equipment.
Isn't Hezbollah a terrorist organization? Why would would any American want a ceasefire?
Who passed the law that required the Pentagon to reveal fuel sale to an ally in the middle of war? Must have been Daffy Duck.
Screw the French and the Russians.
"Ms. Rice it seems has changed her tune when it comes to Israel or is that just an illusion?"
Actually, Condi ticks me off. She has gotten snowed by the Pali's just like Colin Powell was. What is it with Blacks that they now side so often with the Pali's? The Jews were the best friends Blacks had for years, and the Black response has been to turn on the Jews big-time, with the likes of Louis Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and other spokespeople for too many Blacks in the U.S. Also, so many Blacks in prisons have turned to the Muslim religion. The end result is that way too many Blacks in the U.S. are now anti-semitic. Really is depressing.
The reason Condi is now spouting a different line than her usual gut-check "exercise restraint" line and her real inclination towards a cease fire, is that Bush has told her otherwise, and she has to do what he is telling her to do, rather than what she'd really like to say. Thank goodness Bush finally gets it regarding what needs to be done in the Mideast, and that Hizbullah has to be wiped out to achieve any real possibility for peace in that area of the world. Hope Bush sticks to his guns and doesn't let EU and UN opinion, which is basically anti-semitic, or has big oil interests, to sway him, like it did his old man and James Baker. I found it interesting that the head of CAIR was on TV yesterday saying that Bush should send James Baker over to the MidEast to broker a cease-fire and peace effort. Yeah, nothing like letting the fox into the chicken coop. CAIR knows that James Baker, John Sinnunu (who is Arab) and others that Bush Sr. surrounded himself with as advisors, were Arab sympathizers and/or big oil men. Hope Bush 43 can continue to maintain the courage to go against his father and Bush 41's past advisors, to do what is right here, and support Israel 100 percent.
I gotta go out to a pig farm and see if the pigs are flying.
You certainly have some interesting observations. I do hope that Ms. Rice has it correct this time.
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