Posted on 03/26/2008 2:02:38 PM PDT by Anti-Hillary
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu has not been invited to meet with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her upcoming trip to Israel, sources close to Netanyahu said Tuesday, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Rice is set to with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and her dear confidante, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, but she apparently will not find time to meet with the head of the opposition, typically part of the standard protocol when diplomats visit Israel.
Netanyahu's associates said they were not surprised or upset by the snub, "because her visit was intended to promote the Annapolis process that Rice initiated and Netanyahu opposes. They emphasized that he had better relations with other American leaders such as Vice President Dick Cheney, with whom he met on Sunday," the Post reported.
"She apparently doesn't want to hear what he has to say," a source close to Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu had to actively lobby to get ear-time with US President George W. Bush when he came to Israel in January. The Likud leader was originally not on Bush's agenda but he was added after the snub made headlines. In the end, the two men met for twice the time allocated in the schedule.
Netanyahu, trying to shift the public agenda away from his overseas travel expenses, visited the controversial E-1 area between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim. He called on Olmert to start building there immediately despite fierce American opposition. Building plans for the area were approved during Netanyahu's term as prime minister but have been since frozen due to intense pressure from the US.
"All of Israel has been built, not because of the approval of the Arabs and the international community, but despite their opposition," Netanyahu told reporters atop a dusty hilltop. "We need the kind of leadership that would insist on this."
Netanyahu said it was unjust that Ma'aleh Adumim's expansion was being prevented while illegal Arab building went unchecked. He called again for the Shas party to leave the government after Livni admitted on Channel 2 Friday night that Jerusalem's fate was in fact being negotiated, despite Olmert's claims to the contrary.
"If the government continues, not only will Jerusalem be encircled by a ring of adversarial Arabs and eventually Hamas, Jerusalem itself will be divided," Netanyahu said. "My friends in Shas who say they want to save Jerusalem must leave the government immediately."
A Shas spokesman said in response that they received reassurances from Livni that Jerusalem was not being negotiated and that if the opposite were true, the party would leave the government, the Post reported. Shas has been saying that for months, despite evidence to the contrary.
Ma'aleh Adumim mayor Benny Kashriel said he would start a campaign after Pessah to pressure the government to build in E-1. He said he would move his office to the area as part of the campaign.
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And here I was under the misconception that Rice and Cheney worked for the same administration.
They do it all the time, as well as addressing Congress.
In Israel's parlamentary system it's traditional, and expected, that foreign officials meet with the opposition leaders. This is truely a snub, from Israel's perspective. Like Clinton sending Carville over to campaign against Bibi. And Condi knows that.
As the Boosh admin continues to stab the country in the back...
As well as a former Secretary of State, or close to it. Just how she thinks this advances the palestinian cause is beyond me, given the rather tenuous position of the Ohlmert government.
My support for Condi Rice has gone down to zero. I must stand with Bibi for he is right. I think that the devil does not want him in office, for he would know what lies ahead. I hope that Bibi does not give up trying to save Israel.
I was wrong when I stated that Benjaman Netanyahu had participated in the raid on Entebe. His brother Yani led that raid and was the only casualty. Benjaman had served with his two brothers in the Sayeret Matkal, an elite reconisance and tracking unit in the Israeli military. This unit also participated in all military actions outside Israel, most certainly the operations at Entebe. Benjamin did not participate in that action.
Wikipedia: Benjamin Netanyahu
In the spirit of complete disclosure, I confess.
In 2004, I put a "Condi 2008" bumper sticker on my SUV.
I sold the SUV {bought a bigger one} and only the American Flag and NRA sticker adorns my vehicle.
Very bad move by Rice in relation to BiBi.
“Great. Bush snubbed Bibi when he went to Israel.
‘sup wit dat?”
There is a book titled “House of Saud, House of Bush” which makes a case that when the Saudi’s invested 1.476 billion bucks through the Bush family and the Carlilse Group, they bought a family of politicians.
An honest American pol is one who once bought, stays bought.
It is time for America to do a Carthago Delenda Est on the middle east and then form Texas East to solve the oil crisis.
Rome did it with far less power than we have. It is time to learn from history.
Shas are political whores who will sell their votes on anything in exchange for money for their schools fatter welfare checks for large families. As a Sephardi, I have immense respect for Ovadia Yosef. But Shas today is a malignant force in Israeli society.
Very interesting about that PBS special. Rumsfeld (and I confess up front I’m one of his fans that practically worships the ground he walks on. He and Cheney might be the only two around who really understand all the different situations in the world) had a point about Condi.
She is brilliant, but her entire life was focused on studying Soviet Russia. She understands the Russian mind set, Communism, and the inner workings of a totalitarian state. That does not translate well to understanding Arabs or Israelis.
I like Rumsfeld also. Look, nobody is perfect. We have had a big improvement since he left. That’s okay. He has nothing to be ashamed of. Wars are tough situations. I have a lot of respect for him.
As for Cheney, he is one of the most capable executives we’ll every have as a vice-president.
I’m not sure what his globalist leanings are, but I suspect he may be the consumate corporate free trader. That would be my one killer regarding him running for the Presidency. I am very very protective of proprietary technology and sovereignty.
I do like Cheney a great deal. If he could communicate an outlook that put my anti-globalist fears to rest, I would back him to the full extent I could.
“Johnny didn’t snub Bibi”
This is one area where McCain may be a lot better than Bush. McCain isn’t as big a globalist as Bush, nor is he a big oil man w/ties to Middle East despots, like those in Saudi Arabia. He will be less beholden to the oil interests than the Bush family is. Plus, when McCain was over there just recently, he said after talking with Bibi, that Israel has every right to defend herself when attacked. So, there is some hope that McCain might actually be on Israel’s side, rather than the Pali’s. Bush Jr. had his pro-Arabist father and also James Baker, another big oil man who borders on anti-semite, whispering in his ear all the time. McCain won’t have such influences, thank goodness. May Bush’s “legacy”, a supposed peace treaty and state for the Pali’s, never come to pass, and tht he be out of office and therefore no more a danger to Israel, sooner than later.
Condi snubs Bibi; Bibi tells it like it is - ping!
Rice continues to be a failure as SoS. Can’t say she was much of a success as NSA before that.
Bush is destroying us with his Israel policies.
Makes a lot of sense, and part of the divide-and-conquer-Palis policy.
Bibi is outside of government now, and there is nothing he can say to Condi / Bush that they don’t already know and agree with. The important part is to “hold the hand” and not to antagonize flaky and unpredictable Ehud Olmert until Bibi (or someone from conservative coalition) will take Olmert’s place. Meeting with Bibi simply would not serve any purpose at this time - nothing to be gained by us by meeting with him now, while Bibi might or might not benefit slightly from photo-op.
Saying “nice” things about one side (Abbas) of the “two ‘Palestinian’ states” (Gaza / Hamas and West Bank / Fatah) keeps the status quo of civil war going, which is making Israel far safer and ‘Palestinians’ divided and entirely leaderless and without any authority to do anything or “negotiate” anything until they “resolve their difference” and can speak in one voice. A much added benefit is a daily reminder and example of “true Palestiniant state” - the Hamas’ Gaza - which doesn’t even have support of UN or EU (imagine that!) and makes all talks about talks about more talks about “agreement” on status of ‘Palestine’ irrelevent and a joke, which everyone understands. Anything towards that “goal”, like farce in Annapolis or saying nice things about ‘Palestinian people’ who “earn for freedom” (not much different from the content of saying the same things about people of Eastern Europe during Cold War - freedom from their own regime and leadership) earns us points and bides the time and runs out the clock on feckless Olmert regime, while having no downside and making no waves politically, except by getting scorn on FR because it’s not “politically correct” position.
Politically, it may seem ugly (aren’t politics always this way?) from FReepers point of view; policy-wise it’s brilliant and doesn’t put any pressure on Israel to give up anything or even do anything, but “talk” and keep (paraphrasing Seinfeld) “talking about nothing with a nobody”.
In the mean time the wall is still there, the security keeps improving, the operations against Gaza rockets can go at will (it’s not Hizballah in Lebanon, a sovereign country), the two-way two-sided secure road to settlements is being built.
The question of ‘Palestinian state’ will not be resolved in ‘Palestine’ - big part of it has been resolved in Iraq by removing a big sponsor and financier of terror - Saddam; the other part / leg is Iran which is providing financial and logistical support to Syria, Hizballah and other anti-Israel groups.
Bush is an "oil man"? Who knew? Well, McCain will just choke us with environmentalism and global warming and no-drilling-in-ANWR policies... among other things.
Plus, when McCain was over there just recently, he said after talking with Bibi, that Israel has every right to defend herself when attacked.
Well, thank G-d for McCain, you just don't hear that "straight talk" from Bush, Condi or Cheney, they are completely against this kind of thing... BTW, Cheney is an "evil", too - just like "incompetent Condi" he said recently that 'Palestinians' should have their own state (even though they already have two now)... But of course, Cheney is also an "oil man", or maybe made too many visits to State Department recently.
McCain also keeps saying that he is a "conservative, Reagan Republican", and stood next to Nancy Reagan when she "endorsed" him few days ago, so he must really be one - after all, he said so. And he'll insist on it, "even if some people don't agree with" him.
BTW, McCain should be careful getting close to Bibi - a lot of Jews will vote for him if Obama gets Democratic nomination, but they may not do it if he is too close to that "radical right-winger" Netanyahu. But he'll probably disappoint us and say something in favor of "peace in the Middle East" and "home for Palestinians" before it's over, just to shore up all the sides.
Shouldn't we here, on FR, really look and read beyond headlines and discard and ignore usual meaningless political speeches?
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