Word: rice
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...stony political landscape has changed, for the worse, since Rice made her last pilgrimage here five months ago. For one thing, the Islamist militants of Hamas now control the Gaza Strip, having chased away the armed forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas - a man heartily championed by the White House, although less so by the Israelis, and openly despised by most Palestinians who see him as a puppet made to dance by the U.S. and the Israelis...
...Bulgarian stand-off also removed the last major hurdle for full normalization of diplomatic ties between Libya and the European Union. And the U.S. also wants in on the act: Last month, Washington named its new ambassador to Tripoli, and plans to send Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to visit soon...
...becoming something of a tradition for U.S. Presidents, during their waning months in office, to seal their legacy by trying to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict. That's the purpose of President George W. Bush's sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on a four-day swing through the Middle East, ending up, as usual, in the holy city of Jerusalem, which remains the key to many of the region's unsolved quarrels. But the President's attempt to succeed where Bill Clinton failed looks likely to achieve, at best, mixed results...
...bright side, the Saudis told Rice that they might be willing to attend a U.S.-sponsored summit this fall between Israel and so-called "moderate" Arab leaders. Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain and Morocco may also be invited. Saudi participation in talks with the State of Israel, which Riyadh has yet to recognize, would certainly mark a diplomatic breakthrough. But the Saudis made clear that they will show up only if the summit is aimed at discussing the "core issues" that stand in the way of a settlement. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal described these issues as the creation...
...Israeli officials are intrigued by the Saudis' overture, but they offered no promises in return - and have made no secret of their reluctance to discuss the most contentious issues at this stage. That doesn't bode well for Bush's summit. Privately, one minister's aide described Rice's trip as "about as useful as grinding dust," but he said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government had to go through the motions of complying with Washington. Politically, Olmert is too weak to be starting closing down the West Bank settlements that house around 250,000 Israelis. Also, Israelis doubt...