Condoleeza Rice: Obama Made Peace Less Likely

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Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice: Olmert offered Abbas 94% of Judea and Samaria, a shared jurisdiction of Jerusalem.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday that prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are far worse today than when she left office.

Speaking to The Associated Press, Rice said she partly blames the Obama administration’s tough line against Israel and its construction of Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria for the impasse in negotiations.

“When you look at where we are now, we’re a long, long way back from where we were,” Rice said, adding she had hoped that the Obama administration could revive the stalled peace talks quickly when it took office in 2009.

She said she was disappointed by the Obama’s handling of the issue of new Israeli housing construction in Judea and Samaria.

“I do think focusing on settlements in that particular way was a mistake,” Rice said. “The parties then were able to have a reason not to sit down.”

The Obama administration imposed a ten-month building freeze on Israel in an attempt at satisfying PA demands and drawing its officials to the negotiating table. However, that attempt failed when PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas refused to negotiate.

Now, Rice told AP, the gap has only widened “and they’re running out of time.” She did not sound optimistic for a peace settlement, or even for new talks, anytime soon.

“When they’re not talking, they’re sliding backward,” Rice said.

On Tuesday, Rice’s new memoir, “No Higher Honor”, was published. The memoir sheds some light on the groundbreaking offer made by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Abbas in 2008.

Rice describes in the book how determined Olmert was to reach an agreement with Abbas, going so far as to offer him 94 percent of Judea and Samaria, a shared jurisdiction of Jerusalem, and allowing 5,000 PA Arabs who left their homes in 1948 back into Israel.

Rice writes in the book that the offer fell through when Abbas refused to accept it, despite efforts by her and then-President George W. Bush to convince him to accept.

Despite Abbas’ rejection of the offer, Rice suggested her successors might have been able to use the momentum from those negotiations to keep talks alive.

She told AP she left a record of the intensive negotiations she led in 2008 for the new Obama administration, in hopes that a new team of negotiators could pick up where the sides had left off when Bush left office.

reply to post by KnightFire


No, that's totally wrong the guy got a Nobel Peace Prize, he's all about peace. (sarcasm)

reply to post by KnightFire


There are two big issues I have here.

1. Its a Republican criticizing a Democratic White House so of course she is going to be critical of the decisions being made.

2. Why is it that we always give give give to the Israeli's but when someone finally stands up to the Israeli government then it's a mistake?

I am personally so sick and tired of the continous kid glvoes being used with Israel they are big enough to start there own crap then they should be big enough to handle the consequences as well. They always talk big and boast big, but when something bad happens they run to there "allies" and cry foul.

reply to post by KnightFire


THIS JUST IN: Somebody From Bush Administration Doesn't Agree With Obama's Policies!

Why is this surprising or newsworthy?

Originally posted by Cuervo
reply to post by KnightFire

 

THIS JUST IN: Somebody From Bush Administration Doesn't Agree With Obama's Policies!

Why is this surprising or newsworthy?

Not surprising. She just misses the all the attention and doesn't want anyone to forget about her.

Condoleeza Rice is saying this? Didnt that administration come up with the notion of "preemptive strikes" for the first time in our nations history? Didnt that administration start 2 wars during the same time for one of the few times in our nations history?

Yknow, these Republicans really have balls to just blatantly lie to peoples faces. And not only do we let them get away with it, some people actually agree and follow this BS? Jeez. Its embarrassing. Just the preemptive stuff is enough for me, that is completely against the american ideal of innocent until proven guilty, anyone who agreed with that move is a traitor in my eyes.

Oh yes, let's listen to her opinions after all she comes from the administration that made the US the enemy of the civilized world and...

1) Couldn't catch Bin-Laden
2) Couldn't get Saddam Hussain
3) Couldn't protect the country from 911 attacks (and many say actually caused the attacks)
4) Single handedly destroyed the US economy while bailing out the richest corporations
5) War mongered by handing out no-bid contracts to their former companies time after time.
6) Just "lost" billions of dollars and never asked where it went.
7) Made a case for war which ignored intelligence that there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq.
8) Illegally outed their own CIA agent (Valerie Plame) to punish her husband for not rubber stamping the lies of #7 above.
9) Didn't properly equip troops in Iraq with adequate body armor or armored HUMVEES while deriding their opponents with claims that "They don't support the troops".
10) How could we forget destroyed the image of the US by torturing prisoners.

I could go on all day but oh yes, let's believe whatever she has to say.

Shouldn't she be spouting lies for bush and cheney?

I mean that was her job right, damage control basically.