Word: rice
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
When Condoleezza Rice left Washington for the Middle East on July 24, she knew she was taking the biggest gamble of her public career. She had a planeful of reporters, no schedule and no winners up her sleeve. Her mission - to forge a deal that promised a lasting end of conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Shi'ite militants - was being widely dismissed as quixotic...
...back again, she was on her way to Washington yesterday with not much to show but hope and determination to persuade the U.N. Security Council to approve a U.S.-British resolution laying out a comprehensive political and security plan between Israel and Lebanon, including Lebanon's Hizballah militants. Rice's plans to cement at least informal Israeli and Lebanese commitments to that plan had been sidetracked the day before by the global uproar over an Israeli bombardment that had gone awry, collapsing a residence in the south Lebanon town of Qana, crushing and suffocating 54 people, mostly women and children...
...Whatever Rice was feeling on the flight back couldn't be seen in her face or body language. Once ensconced in her spacious cabin, she changed into a teal warmup suit and worked throughout the 14-hour trip home. She and her most trusted key advisors-Assistant Secretary of State David Welch and National Security Council democracy-agenda chief Elliott Abrams - communicated constantly with Washington, London, Paris and other key players via the Air Force plane's secure phone or by cell phone and text-messaging devices during a refueling stop in Ireland...
...When she dropped by the press section to offer optimistic predictions about the upcoming Security Council actions, Rice seemed bemused that reporters asked about her mood and the slams some critics were aiming her way. "Look, I am very focused on what we have to get done," Rice said. "I know it's the right thing to do. And unless you have a [moral] compass and unless you're willing to act on principle, then you're not going to contribute ultimately to peace. And, you know, when you're Secretary of State, you only have a limited period...
...Israel has agreed to settle the outstanding disputes with Lebanon over owndership of the Shebaa Farms area and the fate of Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails. The Qana killings will likely increase Hizballah's influence over the position of the Lebanese government: The two Lebanese officials with whom Secretary Rice met last week - Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and parliament speaker Nabih Berri - indicated Sunday that there was no purpose to her returning to until a cease-fire could be delivered...