Word: diplomats
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...other things on his mind. "I have a solution to the vision of Europe," said Berlusconi, who had just returned from Moscow after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We must make Russia a member of the E.U." The foreign ministers in the room were flabbergasted, according to a diplomat who was there, not only because Berlusconi was ignoring the issue at hand, but because he didn't seem to know that Russia wouldn't qualify for E.U. membership for decades. "Everybody thought it was like he'd never been exposed to real politics before," the diplomat says. "People couldn...
...charismatic opposition figure, like Suu Kyi, to galvanize outrage overseas. Foreign aid is doled out regularly to Vientiane with no strings attached. In any event, Laos seems immune to outside pressure, not least because its officials maintain a Hermetic existence. "The leaders rarely travel," says a senior Western diplomat in Vientiane, "and don't seem to understand the importance of world opinion...
Bush's enthusiasm was genuine. One diplomat, who was in the room at a summit of Arab leaders in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh the day before the Aqaba meeting, said Bush delivered a blunt message: "Look guys, if I didn't think I could do this, I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't waste my time and come all this distance if I didn't know I could do it." White House aides later said that the President's words were not so self-referential, and that he didn't mean to suggest...
...most militant terrorist groups operating in the Palestinian territories, scuttled a meeting with Abbas to discuss a cease-fire. And if Bush sides with Sharon, the stature the President has only just secured with the Arabs will disappear. "The summit was fine and dandy," says a senior Arab diplomat who participated in the sessions. "But there will be a snag. If Bush steps in and clears it up, everyone will fall into line behind him. If he doesn't, they'll write him off." And yet the risks for Bush may be less than they seem to be. "The public...
...Egyptian men were teachers at an Islamic school funded by the Saudi charity Om al-Qura. The charity is believed to have been used by al-Qaeda to fund its own activities and those of JI. "We're talking about huge inflows of cash here," says a senior diplomat in Phnom Penh, "perhaps even millions of dollars, amounts so large that they set alarm bells ringing all over the place." Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen claimed that the men had been planning to attack a regional summit of foreign ministers, including U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, scheduled...