That statement is sooooo true considering what other evil deeds are ongoing in the region.
Posted on 10/17/2007 1:12:17 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
JERUSALEM - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that Israelis and Palestinians have a new "moment of opportunity" to forge peace despite the eruption of fresh tensions between the two sides over preparations for a U.S.-hosted Mideast conference.
Even as President Bush said he was optimistic about the conference and the creation of a Palestinian state, Rice faced growing difficulties in her efforts to organize the meeting set for November or December to launch formal Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
Rice cautioned the going would be tough as she wrapped up four days of intense shuttle diplomacy during which she met twice with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas to bridge wide gaps over a declaration the conference is to endorse.
"I do think it is moment of opportunity, but there is very hard work ahead," Rice told reporters at a news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who's leading the Israeli negotiating team.
Underscoring the challenges, the Palestinians accused Israel of not being serious enough and Abbas said Israeli actions, including West Bank military raids, were damaging the pre-conference atmosphere.
Israel is "hindering the endeavor to reach a document with substance," Abbas said after seeing Rice at his office in Ramallah, stressing little time is left for the meeting. "We must not waste time."
The Israelis and Palestinians have vastly different expectations for the conference, where they are to present a document that would start negotiations to create a Palestinian state. The Palestinians want a detailed document. The Israelis favor a general agreement.
A senior Palestinian official said Abbas was disappointed by U.S. suggestions that he significantly scale back their demands for the joint statement to address Israeli concerns.
The Palestinians want the document to include at least a sentence or two on how to solve each of the issues of dispute, such as borders and Jerusalem, the Palestinians have maintained.
The Palestinians' core demand is that the future border between Israel and Palestine be based on the pre-1967 Mideast War lines, with modifications through land swaps. Israel captured the West Bank and other areas in the 1967 war.
Rice asked Abbas whether he could accept a more vaguely worded statement, which would not mention the 1967 lines, said the Palestinian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the meeting with reporters.
She also asked whether the Palestinians were willing to drop a mention of Palestinian refugees, another key issue for the Palestinians, from the document, the official said.
Rice did not address the Palestinian complaints, but Livni appeared annoyed when asked about them and said she would not stoop to "play the blame game" or divulge sensitive information about negotiations over the document.
Livni did not address the issue of the 1967 borders but warned that excessive expectations that Palestinians might have if the document is detailed could lead to "frustration and violence."
Livni also appeared to suggest that the matter of Palestinian refugees could be resolved by them returning to the future Palestine, a position that has infuriated the Palestinian side in the past.
But she also reiterated Israel's commitment to a two-state solution and said the Jewish state would make difficult compromises if the Palestinians would, too. She said her negotiating team would have a second meeting with their Palestinian counterparts this week.
While Rice was engaged in tough diplomacy on the ground, Bush told reporters in Washington that he was pleased with his top diplomat's progress and promised a staunch U.S. effort to make the conference a success.
"The reason why there needs to be a vision of what a state could look like is because the Palestinians that have been made promises all these years need to see there's a serious, focused effort to step up a state," Bush said.
He also said he is seeking an Arab "buy-in" for a peace deal, something Rice is also pressing for on her mission. She met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday in Cairo and will see Jordan's King Abdullah II in London on Thursday.
Arab countries, notably U.S. allies Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, have been reluctant to commit to attending the conference unless there are guarantees that it will yield firm results.
But Rice appeared to have won Egypt's backing. After her talks in Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit endorsed the conference publicly less than 24 hours after suggesting it be postponed.
On Wednesday, ahead of Rice's meeting with King Abdullah, a senior Jordanian official echoed the initial Egyptian sentiments, saying the conference should be delayed if more time is deemed necessary.
Rice started her day with an emotional visit to Jesus' traditional birthplace in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. The daughter and granddaughter of Presbyterian ministers, she lit a candle in the grotto and paused for prayer.
"Being here at the birthplace of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has been a very special and moving experience," she said at the Church of the Nativity. "It is also, I think, a personal reminder that the Prince of Peace is still with us."
In Bethlehem, Rice saw Israel's contentious West Bank separation barrier, which lines the town on two sides.
Israel started building the West Bank barrier in 2002 as a defense against Palestinian attackers who have killed hundreds of Israelis in recent years. Palestinians say the barrier's meandering route cuts off large chunks of land they want for a future state.
Rice said she understood why Israel would need a barrier but that she hoped it would not be necessary in the future.
"Let's be real. There is a security problem," she said. "I look forward to a day when security is brought about in a different way, which is two states living side by side."
Not quite the words I would choose. Mine would be a little stronger. Betrayal might be one that fits.
The Palestinians never miss the opportunity to screw up the “peace” process.
How many of these moments of opportunity have our diplomats and Presidents announced over the last 50 years?
This is the 2007 opening gambit of the newly established tradition of lame duck presidential administrations going into a foaming-at-the-mouth panic to build a last minute legacy by attempting to broker a palestinian-Israeli peace deal.
The primary strategery employed is to accept ever increasing outlandish demands from palestinian maniacs while at the same time beating Israel into submission so they will make additional suicidal concessions.
Condirisha already showed her negotiating skills in the laughable deal she cut to end the Lebanon-Israeli conflict.
Can she bring those same skills to bear in this negotiation?
Will Israel survive if she does?
***
EU’s solana mentioned something about the planets getting in a right position - new age mumbo jumbo astrology etc.
http://gmfus.org/brusselsforum/doc/FiresideChatwithJavierSolana.doc
Now I think that the planets are getting in a southern distribution that they were intelligent, and we put energy, and we put focus and focus is very important and in our resources. We may be able to move the process forward. Big question mark is time. We don’t have much time.
****
Bible forbids astrology
A 'moment of opportunity' to attempt what? The forced division of the Jewish capital of Jerusalem, or turning over all of Samaria and Judea over to Arab terrorists?
That statement is sooooo true considering what other evil deeds are ongoing in the region.
“Being here at the birthplace of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has been a very special and moving experience,” she said at the Church of the Nativity. “It is also, I think, a personal reminder that the Prince of Peace is still with us.”
***
Christians believe Christ Jesus their Lord and God resides IN them and that He does not leave them once He does come in and reside IN them - Why would a Christian need a REMINDER that Jesus Christ is STILL with them.
This sounds new age instead of Biblical thinking. Jesus Christ (who is The Prince of Peace) has always resided IN believers who have put their trust in Him and have been born again.
***
Christians believe Christ Jesus their Lord and God resides IN them and that He does not leave them once He does come in and reside IN them - Why would a Christian need a REMINDER that Jesus Christ is STILL with them.
This sounds new age instead of Biblical thinking. Jesus Christ (who is The Prince of Peace) has always resided IN believers who have put their trust in Him and have been born again.
28 posted on 10/17/2007 4:26:40 PM MDT by Esther Ruth
This is another indication that Ms Rice does not know Yah'shua Your point is well taken.
shalom b'shem Yah'shua
Maybe she does but is still sounds new age instead of Biblical
Galatians 2:20 ... but Christ liveth in me
Romans 8:10 And if Christ be in you...
Ephesians 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith...
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Ah, it all makes sense now. Except that, looking back, I do believe that this has been an ongoing presidential tradition.
Wow. That’s crazy. Leading figures openly admitting that they’re being led by the stars.
If she does not know the word of G-d
then she does not know the living Word of G-d
Modern public education.
Decadent: adj; "fallen from a higher plane or ideal"
This is another example in the government of an executive appointee being captured by the mindset and world view of the agency they are sent to control. It happens all the time in government, and is one of the intrinsic problems with a civil service bureaucracy. If you want to change the government's policies, the Andrew Jackson approach of the 'Spoils System' does the job. If you want to reduce individual corruption, independently selected personnel does the job. No one has implemented a system to do both.
Umm, I have to say that this condition has not been met.
My reply from the State Department today:
Jerusalem, Israel [Incident: 071015-000208]
Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.
Thank you for contacting the State Department.
Subject --------------------------------------------------------------- Jerusalem, Israel
Discussion Thread --------------------------------------------------------------- Response (Support Agent) - 10/17/2007 11:53 AM
The Bureau of Public Affairs is in receipt of your message. Please know that all views are welcome and we appreciate the time you took to express your concerns.
Secretary Rice and President Bush are committed to making the world a better place for all Americans and all people.
We encourage you to visit our website at www.state.gov for information on the Secretary and Department publications.
Thank you for contacting the U.S. Department of State.
Question Reference #071015-000208 ---------------------------------------------------------------
Category Level 1: U.S. Foreign Policy
Date Created: 10/15/2007 08:49 PM
Last Updated: 10/17/2007 11:53 AM
Status: Solved
[---001:000926:16207---]
I agree that she's just following orders, and that those orders are to keep trying diplomacy, while we are preparing for the end-all war. And she knows what she's doing.
Sorta like saying: "Nice Doggy", while you're picking up a baseball bat ............................ FRegards
You are absolutely correct.
Whenever I think about this kind of diplomatic blitz I have visions of Madeline "Mad Maddie" Albright when Arafat walked out of the peace negfotiations in the Paris US Embassy, October, 2000.
Wobbling and teetering on her heels as she breathlessly chases Yasir Arafat out of the door, rolly-polly Maddie yells at the Marine guards, "Close the gates! Close the gates!"
To some extent, Condi began morphing into another Albright the moment she was sworn in as Secretary of State.
I suppose this kind of negotiating dementia began in the Carter administration but it is sad to see President Bush playing the old role of a hapless Charley Brown to the Palestinians' Lucy as they tempt him with the football he will never get to kick and the legacy-building peace agreement he will never get to broker.
Duncan Hunter: Israel Shouldn’t Give an Inch
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/5/22/93841.shtml
Rep. Duncan Hunter: ‘I Will Never Abandon Israel’
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/5/22/160234.shtml?s=lh
LGF Has Special Duncan Hunter Post About Israel
http://tammybruce.com/2007/05/lgf_has_special_dun.php
http://www.plnewsforum.com/index.php/forums/viewthread/19083/
An Interview With Duncan Hunter
http://rightwingnews.com/interviews/duncanhunter.php
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