Her Majesty, Ms. Rice

Imagine a foreign diplomat claiming that the only measure holding up world economic recovery is American politics? What if for instance, it was said that the election season in the United States was the primary reason for failure to secure a new agreement to stop Somali pirates (AKA Islamic ship jacking: see Jefferson and the Barbarians as background)?

I cannot say I am surprised given Ms. Rice's lack of success in diplomacy that she would have the audacity to lay blame for the administration's perceived failure to secure a "peace treaty" between the Arabians and Israel on the Jews. Perceived, meaning, success would have been worse.

Ms. Rice has consistently ignored the facts on the ground and the realities of what a successful conclusion to her talks would look like. Like all power crazed politicians determined to establish a favorable legacy, somehow, just somehow, she has managed to miss the point that the barbarians she is negotiating with are still determined to at the very least undermine the security of the Jews with which she is insisting that an agreement be had. Forget selling her the reality, that they, the barbarians, have never given up the kill factor.

We have been there before. A democratic and non-threatening "Palestine", like a drug induced vision held by professional diplomats who believe all evil can be conquered by the suffrage of the ballot box, is just as much a fantasy as it was when first envisioned as a means to make the Jews trust their Edomite supervisors and would be Yishmaelite masters. What the next four years holds only HaKadosh Baruch Hu can say. We have gone from bad to worse - the instrument in his hands has been forged. Will the children of Israel, the goy kadosh, listen to his words before Edom swings the axe? It will indeed be a great test to blunt the axe before it swings with more political obstruction in the form of a new nationalist government in Israel.

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Rice: Israeli politics preventing peace

Nov. 23, 2008
Hilary Leila Krieger and AP , THE JERUSALEM POST
The fact that Israel and the Palestinians have not reached a peace agreement and will likely fail to do so by the end of 2008 is "largely due to" political turmoil in Israel, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday night.

"Even though there was not an agreement by the end of the year, it is really largely because of the political situation in Israel," Rice told reporters.

Still, she tried to remain upbeat about the peace process, adding, "It's in pretty good shape."

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert arrived in Washington Sunday, and was set to meet with Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams later in the day to kick off his farewell visit with US President George W. Bush.

The parley with Abrams was one of a number of preparatory meetings before a working meeting and private dinner with Bush that Olmert will hold Monday night.

Iran, Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are expected to dominate the conversations, as Olmert looks to secure policies and priorities worked out with the Bush administration before both he and the US president leave office at the beginning of the next year.

While Bush and Olmert have enjoyed good relations and have seen eye-to-eye on many issues, they have struck different postures when it has come to negotiating with Syria, which Israel has been doing indirectly for many months.

"The prime minister wants to generate a final tailwind for the Syrian track," one of the PM's aides said, as quoted in Reuters ahead of the visit.

Olmert Spokesman Ya'akov Galanti told The Jerusalem Post that was in keeping with Olmert's efforts to continue pressing on these issues until he leaves office when Israeli elections are held in February.

The Oval Office meeting also presents an opportunity for the two leaders to leave a blueprint for fulfilling their ambitious but unrealized Israeli-Palestinian peace agendas. Paving the way for a smooth and productive transition is also an important aim of the visit.

Just a year ago, Olmert and the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, proudly announced the resumption of peace talks after a seven-year hiatus at a summit hosted by Bush in Annapolis, Maryland. The three set a target of wrapping up a final peace deal by the end of 2008.

Despite frequent negotiating sessions, two trips to the region by Bush and eight more by Rice, the sides have little to show for their efforts and have acknowledged the year-end target will not be met.

With his time in power running out, Olmert has become increasingly candid, saying Israel will have to withdraw from almost all the West Bank and parts of east Jerusalem to make peace with the Palestinians. Talk of such concessions was virtually unheard of just a few years ago.

"I know that Mr. Olmert wants to leave to whomever is elected as the next prime minister the peace process in the best shape possible," spokesman Mark Regev said.

Bush, who spent the weekend in Peru at a meeting of Pacific Rim nations, invited Olmert to Washington as part of his final round of talks with world leaders before he leaves office January 20.

Olmert often speaks of the close personal friendship he has developed with Bush over the past three years. When Bush visited Israel in May, Olmert showered the president with praise, saying, "You're a great person, you're a great leader, and you're a great friend." Though largely unpopular internationally, Bush is loved in Israel, where he is seen as a staunch defender of the US ally.

"It's a farewell, a double farewell," said Danny Ayalon, a former Israeli ambassador to Washington. "They will try to sum up a period and cement all the understandings and agreements between the US and Israel over the last eight years."

After Monday's meeting, Olmert and his wife, Aliza, will dine with the president and first lady Laura Bush at the White House.

The two leaders probably also will discuss the global financial crisis and the future of arms and aircraft deals with Israel.

During his visit to Washington, Olmert also planned to meet with Rice, Vice President Dick Cheney, national security adviser Stephen Hadley, and congressional and Jewish leaders.

Bush leaves office on January 20. Olmert, who announced plans to resign in September amid corruption charges, will step down after a successor is chosen February 10.

McCain Redeemed, Rubin Exposed - Obama Still Favorite of Terrorists

McCain Accused of Hypocrisy Over Hamas, Obama
by Gil Ronen 14 Iyar 5768, 19 May 08 06:07
(IsraelNN.com) The Republican candidate for President, Senator John McCain, is being accused of "hypocrisy" for criticizing Sen. Barack Obama over his stated policy of dialogue with Iran and other enemies, when McCain himself previously stated the U.S. will have to "deal" with Hamas.

McCain previously attacked Obama because of an interview for WND and WABC in which Ahmed Yousef, a top Hamas official, voiced hope that Obama would become president. Yousef, Hamas's chief political advisor in Gaza, also compared Obama to John F. Kennedy.

The Huffington Post, which is considered pro-Obama, has featured a video from a 2006 television interview in which McCain himself implied an eventual willingness for U.S. talks with Hamas.

'They're the government'
When asked about the possibility of conducting talks with Hamas following their victory in the PA elections, McCain said: "They're the government; sooner or later we are going to have to deal with them, one way or another, and I understand why this administration and previous administrations had such antipathy toward Hamas because of their dedication to violence and the things that they not only espouse but practice, so... But it's a new reality in the Middle East. I think the lesson is people want security and a decent life and decent future, that they want democracy. Fatah was not giving them that."

McCain was speaking on Sky News to former Clinton State Department official James Rubin. In an op-ed in the Washington Post last Friday, Rubin blasted McCain, saying that "given his stated position then, it is either the height of hypocrisy or a case of political amnesia for McCain to inject Hamas into the American election." He also accused McCain of "smearing" Obama in quoting Hamas's praise for him.

Conservative bloggers conducted some research of their own, however, and discovered that on the same day as the Rubin interview, McCain spoke to CNN and made it clear that the only way the U.S. can "do business again" with Hamas-led Gaza is if Hamas renounces terror.

'We like Mr. Obama'
In the interview cited by McCain, Hamas's Yousef stated: "We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the elections. I hope Mr. Obama and the Democrats will change the political discourse... I do believe [Obama] is like John Kennedy, a great man with a great principle. And he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community, but not with humiliation and arrogance."

McCain released the following statement in response to the latest accusations: "There should be no confusion, John McCain has always believed that serious engagement would require mandatory conditions and Hamas must change itself fundamentally - renounce violence, abandon its goal of eradicating Israel and accept a two state solution. John McCain's position is clear and has always been clear, the President of the United States should not unconditionally meet with leaders of Iran, Hamas or Hizbullah. Barack Obama has made his position equally clear, and has pledged to meet unconditionally with Iran's leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the leaders of other rogue regimes, which shows incredibly dangerous and weak judgment."

Will Jews defeat Obama?
Leading independent Democrats fear that if their party nominates Obama to run against McCain, the Jewish vote will help contribute to a Democratic loss in November, CBS reported last month. The network study said that Sen. Obama's rival, Senator Hillary Clinton, has not stated out loud what she believes--"that if Obama is the nominee a likely Democratic victory would turn to a near-certain defeat."

CBS noted that Sen. Obama lost the Jewish vote in Florida by double-digits. It said that an Obama victory in the primaries would forge an unusual alliance of Hispanics, blue-collar whites and Jews who would help send Sen. McCain to the White House.

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In the APRPEH post on Friday, 16 May Two Campaigns, Two Candidates, One Israel I questioned the nature of the remarks reported by James Rubin and left for McCain to interpret what he meant by "dealt with" in reference to a PA government led by Hamas. The story that Rubin and Huffington were trying to sell is that McCain is no different that Obama seeking negotiations with terrorists and the enemies of freedom. McCain's remarks seem to be, when viewed in context with the CNN interview given the same day as the Rubin interview and posted by Hotair (also on Friday) reveal at least a few pre-conditions, albeit conditions for which Hamas could never comply. Obama still cannot be trusted with the security of the American people, even if McCain may have 'gaffed' on the Rubin interview. McCain has made his position clear. And unlike Barry H.O., McCain has a track record on this issue and doesn't hang out with terrorists and gangsters.

Ed Morrisey at Hotair in the article referred to above had this to say regarding Rubin:

The context here is crystal clear. McCain envisioned a possible change in Hamas from a terrorist group to a legitimate political party, one that recognized Israel and renounced violence. Under those conditions, McCain said that we could engage them in talks designed to establish peace, and only under those conditions. The Bush administration had the same policy at the time. Neither the US nor John McCain supported meeting with Hamas without preconditions, and they certainly didn’t have policy advisers meeting with them while they conducted terrorist attacks and plotted an armed takeover of Gaza.

This attack meme demonstrates a breathtaking bit of intellectual dishonesty. We expect that from the hard Left. Coming from the Washington Post, even in its opinion section, it disappoints. So much for the layers of fact-checkers and editors. And now that our friends on the Left have acknowledged the terrorist status of Hamas, can they explain Malley’s presence on the Obama campaign for months while his connections to Hamas were fairly well known?

It remains to be seen whether or not McCain actually believes the conventional wisdom stuff of 'if only Hamas would renounce terrorism and recognize Israel' we could begin negotiations over ending the conflict. Hamas would sooner advocate conversion to Catholicism and renouncing Islam before recognizing Israel's right to exist. Such ideas are for diplomatic naivete, also known as disparity in truth. There is an Israel and there are barbarians.

The New Low of Moral Equivalency

Rice Compares Israeli Policy, US Segregation

(IsraelNN.com) In a speech at the Annapolis conference, United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice compared Israeli policy in Judea and Samaria to segregation between blacks and whites in the US south decades ago, according to the Washington Post. “I know what it is like to hear that you cannot go on a road... because you are Palestinian,” she said, referring to Israel’s policy of creating separate Jewish and Arab roads in areas where there have been repeated attacks.

Rice also expressed sympathy with Israelis, saying she knows what it is like to live with constant suicide bombings and other attacks because a local black church was bombed by white separatists when she was a child, killing one of her classmates and three other girls. “There is pain on both sides,” she said.

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Back in the days of the old south, white communities were always hunkered down in bunkers waiting for the next round of attacks from the black side of town. These were vicious attacks, launched at white schools and community centers with the aim of forcing the white communities to surrender to the demands of the radical black leaders who believed that whites really had no place in the land and should leave it. The old South truly belonged only to the blacks and the whites through trickery and support from the outside, the racist white communities of Europe, were able to overcome the black owners of the land. Agreements to end the fighting were frequent and broken with the as much frequency as they were crafted, the black leaders unable to restrain their anger and hate for the whites.

Maybe some sort of fantasy as this was soring through the mind of Condi Rice when she said such ridiculous and ignorant words as quoted in the article from INN. The lack of the ability to draw a comparison between preventing attacks by barbarians and Jim Crow laws prevents a certain amount of discussion on this subject. Ideas need to have common ground in order to be comparable.

I sympathize with the fact that Ms. Rice has a childhood memory of a tragic event. Many of us have those memories. In Israel's case everyday a new tragic memory is prevented by security forces. The immensity of difference is unmeasurable. Maybe Condi should contemplate what it might be like to multiply her memory by many factors then she may actually come to realize the stupidity of her lack of morality in her moral equivalence.