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In reaction to the victory of Hamas in the Palestinian elections, Condoleeza Rice's response was: "She's [Condi] asked her staff to look into that. Why is it that we didn't see this coming?" I am sorry all you Condi supporters, but this is extremely disconcerting. It is completely indicative of someone living in the policy wonk world of the State Department, getting 99.99% of their news and "analysis" from that world and clueless as to what is actually going on. 9/11 was the result of 40 years of that kind of myopic foreign policy thinking. "Didn't see it coming?? Let's...

...The chief U.S. diplomat also had encouraging words for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but added an indirect warning that he must do more to disarm and counter the militant group Hamas. The United States lists Hamas as a terrorist organization, but the group has recently developed a strong political wing that is a formidable opponent for Abbas... ..."Dismantling the infrastructure of terrorism is essential because in the final analysis no democratic government can tolerate armed parties with [b]one foot in the realm of politics and one foot in the camp of terrorism[/b]," Rice said at Sunday's symposium...

Do you agree with Condoleezza Rice's assertion that the word of the United States is 'as good as gold'? FREEP THIS POLL!

For Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, no means no - and no again - when it comes to whether she will run for president. "It's not what I want to do with my life, it's not what I'm going to do with my life," Rice said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press." A group pushing for a Rice candidacy has run a television ad in New Hampshire - traditional site of the first presidential primary - and plans to air it soon in Iowa, where the first party caucuses take place. At least two Web sites are promoting Rice even...

What about a Rice-Allen Ticket in 2008? You heard it here first! Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has great name recognition, solid foreign policy credentials, and a brilliant mind. Former Virginia Governor and current Senator George Allen has a solid conservative foundation, a friendly outgoing personality, and plenty of leadership experience. Rice would strip a lot of black and women's votes from the Democrat ticket; Allen would pull in the conservatives. This is a ticket that could beat Hillary Clinton. This is a ticket that would keep the Democrats out of the White House for eight years with Rice as...

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's weekend visit to the region, intended to facilitate Israel's disengagement plan, was profoundly disappointing. The hastily planned trip was intended to calm a deteriorating situation caused by the Islamic Jihad suicide bombing outside a Netanya shopping mall on July 12, which killed five Israelis, and relentless bombardments of Gaza and western Negev communities by Hamas which killed 22-year-old Dana Galkovitch in Netiv Ha'asara and further traumatized residents of Sderot and Gush Katif. Though PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas's foreign minister has candidly reneged on the PA's road map commitments to confiscate weapons and explosives in...

In addition to the photographs there is also a link to an article regarding the incident in the Sudan with the NBC reporter and US Officials when they were excluded from a meeting GretchenM pinged me a link to this article about how reporters and US Officials were treated today in the Sudan Dr Rice herself expressed anger at what happened. Part of the article as follows:- Security forces in the Sudanese capital manhandled U.S. officials and reporters traveling with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, marring her round of meetings with leaders of the new unified government. Rice demanded an...

Do we know what China has been up to lately? Seems they have been flying under the radar. China's activities have been mentioned in passing a few times in the media. U.S. News & World Report did a story on China for its June 20th issue. But for the most part, we hardly hear of what is going on. We must not forget that China still has Communist leanings. I am perturbed about the fact that China, a country where human rights abuses still occur, will host the 2008 Olympic Games. This is a joke. What was the IOC thinking?...

The United States is certain that Syrian military intelligence operatives remain in Lebanon in defiance of international demands to withdraw all forces and agents, two senior U.S. officials said Thursday.Syria claims all its forces quit Lebanon in April after some three decades as the dominant political and military force there."There is no question that Syrian military intelligence agents have stayed behind, and that they are exerting a highly negative influence on the situation," one senior State Department official said on condition of anonymity.The United Nations plans to send a verification team back to Lebanon to investigate whether intelligence forces remain,...

The key to success(Filed: 13/06/2005) Condoleezza Rice, the American Secretary of State, is to play the piano at a charity concert in Washington. The audience is in for a treat: the media hail any public figure who can fumble a few notes of Chopin as a "concert-level pianist", but in Dr Rice's case it is true. She is good enough to have accompanied cellist Yo-Yo Ma in Brahms's D Minor Sonata, which is beyond the reach of all but the most technically adept amateur. But what else do we expect of a woman who, in addition to speaking several languages,...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (Reuters) - The United States called on Sunday for new ways to support "fragile" democracies in the Western Hemisphere but was immediately accused by Venezuela of seeking to impose a "global dictatorship." The United States hopes to use a three-day meeting of the 34-member Organization of American States that began on Sunday to advance its idea of allowing private groups to help monitor and promote democracy by raising their concerns with the OAS. "When you look at some of the fragile democracies that there are, it's very clear that the institution needs to be better capable of...

On 11 occasions over the past nine months, the U.S. and allies cooperating in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) have successfully prevented the spread of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons or related items. At least two of those incidents involved Iran, two involved North Korea and another involved an unidentified third country, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher confirmed. Tuesday marked the second anniversary of the PSI, a project launched by President Bush during a 2003 visit to Krakow, Poland. With a focus on stopping and searching ships, planes, trains or trucks, the PSI aims to prevent terrorists and rogue states...

Thank goodness Confederate History Month is over! Maybe Civil Rights organizations, black politicians and journalists will stop whining for awhile. They must pay the Sons of Confederate Veterans on the side. Fat, middle-aged suburbanites waving Confederate flags create excuses for hysterical screaming. Ironically, the volume and shrillness of attacking Confederate heritage is inversely proportional to the actual racism and threat to personal safety. But, it’s profitable if you’re a race pimp. When your skin color is your day job, you need something to cry ‘wolf’ about. The professionally-black Blacks, whose jobs are based on ‘African-American’ in their titles, are working...

Left of the Dial, which looks to be a 90-minute documentary that will deliver a glowing tribute to the left wing Air America radio talk show service, will debut Thursday night on HBO. The HBO Web site touted how "a group of investors set out to launch a liberal radio network that would challenge the dominance of America's airwaves by conservative talk radio." A synopsis of the documentary recounted how "in the days before launch, the energy picks up amidst a whirlwind of photo shoots, CNN sound bites, the creation of marketing/PR materials, and delivery of the hot-off-the-presses New York...

Condeleezza Rice says she is “mildly pro-choice,” a position that dooms her candidacy for president in the Republican Party. No matter how high her spike heels, it’s too big a reach for her to get the Republican nomination without being strongly pro-life anymore than somebody who is not pro-choice getting the Democratic nod. It’s a litmus test for both parties. Rice can flirt with running, but unless she’s prepared to do what the senior George Bush did and become a pro-life convert, she’s flirting with ghosts. edit... Bush is likely to move the court’s most conservative jurist, Antonin Scalia, to...

Five died and 31 wounded in two explosions with Kandahar KABUL - At least five people were killed and 31 wounded Thursday during two simultaneous explosions with Kandahar, the large city of the south of Afghanistan, announced local persons in charge. "Two explosions occurred at the same time, one in the center, the other in the west of the city. We have five died confirmed and 31 wounded ", affirmed by telephone with the AFP Khaled Pashtun, the director of the Businesses external of the municipality. These explosions, whose origin had not been given initially, intervened whereas the American...

NEW DELHI (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in the Indian capital at the start a six-nation tour of Asia which she said was in the midst of "tremendous change". "This is going to be an opportunity to exchange views with important countries, important players in the region that is itself in the midst of tremendous change," Rice told reporters on board the aircraft which brought her to New Delhi. "For instance with India, we clearly have a broader and deeper relationship than we ever had," she added Tuesday. Rice was received at the airport by senior...

Today, The President awards the National Medals of Science and Technology. Karen Hughes returns as she is nominated as Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Quote of the Day "Your work is making our country more competitive, more hopeful, and more prosperous. On behalf of a grateful nation, congratulations for earning the National Medals of Science and Technology." Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island!

Those who get their news from Big Media probably have no idea why President Bush initiated a major shakeup in the State Department and CIA. Here's a little background. Two years ago, a long-simmering bureaucratic feud escalated into open warfare between the Defense Department, which is loyal to Bush, and powerful factions within the CIA and State Department whose loyalties lie elsewhere. Some of these disloyal elements may be under the influence of George Soros' Shadow Party, according to an article in the GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily of June 30, 2003. DFAD editor Gregory R. Copley writes:"Senior bureaucrats in...

From Hosni Mubarak’s opening up Egyptian elections for the first time, to Syria’s strong efforts to accommodate American demands for withdrawal from Lebanon and for cooperation in Iraq, the Middle East is changing in ways unforeseen even last fall. During the campaign, neither candidate discussed pressuring these two putative allies to create a stable and democratic Arab presence, yet today both are taking the first steps toward representative government. Lebanon’s Druze Patriarch Walid Jumblatt pinpointed the genesis of this metamorphosis in the pages of The Washington Post: It's strange for me to say it, but this process of change has...