Condi: Time For Palestinian State Is Now
Rice and Abbas.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Secretary of State Condoleezza said today it was “time for the establishment of a Palestinian state,” and described Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts as the most serious in years.
An international peace conference expected to take place in Annapolis, Md., in November has to be substantive, Rice said at a news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
“We frankly have better things to do than invite people to Annapolis for a photo op,” she said.
Israelis and Palestinians, Rice added, are making their “most serious effort” in years to resolve the conflict.
“Frankly, it’s time for the establishment of a Palestinian state,” she added.
Rice is on a four-day shuttle mission, trying to create some common ground ahead of the meeting. A State Department official hinted on Sunday that the conference might be postponed because of the gaps between the two sides.
The Israelis and Palestinians are trying to work out an outline for a final peace deal ahead of the Annapolis conference, but tensions arose on Sunday when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his Cabinet that he did not regard that outline as a prerequisite for the meeting to take place.
The Palestinians said that without such a document, they would not attend.
Israel has been pushing for a vaguely worded document while the Palestinians want a detailed outline, complete with a timetable for establishing a Palestinian state.
(AP)
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Give them an inch and they will take 10 miles.
They will keep asking for more untill they own the entire Holy Land and the Jews are all dead.
Peace talks with muslims is an oxymoron.
October 15th, 2007 at 9:04 amCondi baby there already IS a palestinian state…it’s called Israel. Get a clue kiddo.
October 15th, 2007 at 9:05 amDoes Condi Rice not have anything more important to do than this idiotic photo op that promises nothing but appeasement to the enemies of the WesT?
October 15th, 2007 at 9:11 amShe is not to be trusted, period!
Here’s the crux of the problem at State and the Pentagon and the rest of the Fed:
“Defense officials involved in waging the global war against Islamist extremism are increasingly frustrated by the apparent failure of senior military and civilian officials to distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys.
They are concerned that community outreach efforts have helped legitimize some U.S. Islamic groups with covert or overt ties to extremists, a problem that also is occurring at the FBI and Justice Department.
Officials said the Pentagon’s problem was highlighted by a recent Marine Corps ceremony marking Ramadan. The little-noticed “iftar,” or fast-breaking, was held Sept. 26 at the Washington Navy Yard in Southeast and was hosted by Marine Corps Deputy Commandant Gen. Robert Magnus.
Among the guests was Agha Saeed, national chairman of the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), a political group that has been linked to Muslim organizations that voice support for Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists.
Official Pentagon backing for the Marine Corps event and a similar Oct. 1 Pentagon iftar celebration were demoralizing, several Pentagon and military officials said.
“During the Cold War, we at least had the brains to recognize Soviet front groups and didn’t invite them to the Pentagon for vodka and caviar,” one defense official said. “Now, the Islamic militant front groups are [the Department of Defense’s] guests of honor.”
According to the Web site DiscoverTheNetworks.com, AMA is a political group that works to get Muslims elected or appointed to senior influential positions in the U.S. government.
“AMA is an active member of the American Muslim Political Coordinating Council,” DiscoverTheNetworks stated. “It also is affiliated with Muslim groups — such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Public Affairs Council — whose members have publicly supported Hamas and Hezbollah, or have been linked to the funding of terrorist activities.”
As noted in this space earlier, Stephen Coughlin, a counterterrorism analyst on the Joint Staff, warned in a recent memorandum that U.S. government efforts to work with front groups for the extremist Muslim Brotherhood had increased the danger that instead of countering Islamist extremists, the government is helping to legitimize groups that are potential terrorist and insurgent support groups.
Officials said Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England has been among the least careful in associating with various suspect Muslim groups and their leaders.”
October 15th, 2007 at 9:22 amCondi has a State. It’s called DENIAL.
October 15th, 2007 at 9:55 amDammit, Condi turned out to be a real disappointment.
She is a brilliant woman who could easily have been prez one day. Instead she chooses to pander to the ragheads and peace pussies. And for what? To them she will always be Bush’s “pet nigger” no matter what she does.
Negotiating with the Palis is a patent waste of time. Even if Abbas deals honestly with Isreal (a dubious assumption) he can’t deliver jackshit in return. Not with Hamas in power.
October 15th, 2007 at 11:05 amHmmmm….didn’t we at one time sign a Peace Treaty with North Vietnam and they were suppose to stay at their side of the fence and South Vietnam their side? Instead in 1975 they invaded the rest of South Vietnam and took it over! And the Viet Communists said their can only be ONE VIETNAM! Though Israel is not a weak country like South Vietnam it still possible to cause Israel to fall like S. Vietnam when we did not support them anymore! Palestinians said the same them that Communist Viets said. “THEIR CAN ONLY BE ONE PALESTINE”! So are we setting up Israel to fall to the Palestinians like we did in Vietnam? I leave that question up to you folks!
October 15th, 2007 at 5:53 pm