Pelosi Not So Counterproductive
So the position of this administration is that the best way to meet with a leader like Assad or people from Syria is in the larger context of trying to get the global community to help change his behavior. But sending delegations hasn't worked. It's just simply been counterproductive.
President Bush Makes Remarks ..., White House, April 3, 2007
The really striking development here is the attempt by a Democratic congressional leader to substitute her own foreign policy for that of a sitting Republican president.
[...]
Ms. Pelosi's attempt to establish a shadow presidency is not only counterproductive, it is foolish.
Pratfall in Damascus, WaPo Editorial, April 5, 2007
Ms. Rice’s decision to meet with the Syrian foreign minister and seek out the Iranian seemed to confirm a significant, if unstated, change in approach for the Bush White House to handling relations in the Middle East, ...
[...]
Ms. Rice’s talk with Mr. Moallem, though short, was substantive. She asked that Syria, with its porous border with Iraq, do more to restrict the flow of foreign fighters. Bush administration officials noted afterward that it might already be happening; in the past month, they said, there had been a drop in the number of foreign fighters traveling over the Syrian border into Iraq.
U.S. and Syria Discuss Iraq in Rare Meeting, NYT, May 4, 2007
Posted by b on May 4, 2007 at 5:33 UTC | Permalink
Hmm - it now seems that Rice is following exactly the concept the Saudi king has demanded.
1. Talk with Syria and shun Iran to bring Syria "back into the fold."
2. Take care of the Israeli/Palestinian "problem"
Rice has done this now by sending a paper with "demands" to the Israeli government:
PMO: Israel can't commit to some of U.S. demands
The document sets a schedule for removing roadblocks and opening passages in the territories and upgrading the Palestinian forces loyal to Abbas. Israel is also urged to approve requests for weapons, munitions and equipment required by defense forces loyal to Abbas.I am not sure the Saudis are happy with "upgrading the Palestinian forces loyal to Abbas". They did bring along the Hamas/Abbas union governement and may will not be happy to see that spoiled again by more weapons for Abbas.U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to arrive on May 15 to discuss implementing the plan.
Officials in the defense establishment object to several issues in the document, especially the demand to expand the operation of the passages in the Gaza Strip and the removal of many roadblocks in the West Bank.
Anyway, the Israelis will take care that no real progress is made on the issue and send Rice home without any achievement. There is also a new Cheney trip planed to the region and he will certainly spoil any progress too.
Maybe Pelosi should travel to Iran to get some movement into the process.
via TPM - J.D. Crouch II is leaving his post as Deputy National Security Adviser.
Among the president's many advisers, Crouch has proved to be one of the staunchest supporters of the administration's hardline security and war on terror policies, including in the Middle East. This was underscored in early January 2007 when Bush unveiled his controversial new “surge” strategy for Iraq, which aimed to significantly boost the number of U.S. troops there. Crouch reportedly led the review team that produced the strategy. His support for these policies has won him praise from some of the more hardline right-wing political factions, including the neoconservatives.So that's a loss for the Cheney team. Interesting coincidence with Rice's talks ...
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In a spring 2005 article for the Middle East Report, commentator Jim Lobe wrote that Crouch's appointment under Hadley “constituted a net gain, if not for the neoconservatives, then certainly for their aggressive nationalist and Christian right partners.” According to Lobe, Crouch is a longtime nuclear enthusiast, a protégé of Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz (with whom he helped produce the 1992 draft Defense Planning Guidance, widely regarded as an early formulation of Bush's post-9/11 policies), and a close associate of William Van Cleave, a leading Cold Warrior in the 1970s and 1980s whose record includes membership on the notorious Team B Strategic Objectives Panel and the U.S. delegation to the START talks.
Jim Lobe on Crouch leaving:
Slowly, Slowly, the Ship of State Turns Realist
The announcement of Crouch's departure was particularly remarkable given the widely reported -- and as yet unsuccessful -- search by his boss, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, for a so-called "war czar". This would be someone with sufficient stature and clout to ensure that White House directives on the conduct of the U.S. "war on terror", especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, are implemented so that Hadley himself, who colleagues say is already over-worked, can address himself to other problems. His deputy's imminent departure can only add to his burdens.
...
This leaves Cheney's office and the National Security Council (NSC), where neo-conservative Elliott Abrams, who reportedly encouraged Israel to attack Syria during the last summer's war with Hezbollah, rules over Middle East policy, as the last redoubt of the hawks.
I think Crouch was fired. He had an interview (NYT or WaPo) where he said he didn't know what new job he would do or was looking for. I find that very unusual if he left on his own will and timing, but I have no idea why he was fired.
Two months ago Badger thought the influence of Cheney and his people in the Middle East was declining. He called attention to several efforts by Cheney to thwart things Rice was trying to do there, including placing one of his people on her immediate staff.
I am no defender of Rice, but if she is in a struggle with Cheney for power it is no wonder she has seemed to be doing a strange dance in the diplomacy arena, both in the Middle East and in the Orient.
The specific occasion for Badger's entries was a conference held in Baghdad the weekend of March 10-11, I think. There were 16 nations represented, including Iran and Syria for the first time. There was to be a followup conference in Turkey.
Anyway, there was evidence Cheney was actively trying to thwart the conference in several ways, including preventing western media coverage.
Badger wrote 4 pieces beginning with Saturday, March 10, which was titled "Proliferation of conferences seen as a symptom of half-baked US policy."
The link I saved is probably to the last of the 4 entries. <http://arablinks.blogspot.com/>Missing Links
Posted by: Oregongal | May 12 2007 5:00 utc | 5
Correction on that link to Badger's articles about Cheney vs Rice. (duh, obviously it is in the archives for March)
Look for the entries for March 10 thru March 13. Badger's March Archive
Posted by: Oregongal | May 12 2007 5:20 utc | 6
The comments to this entry are closed.
CNN Report On Rice's Meeting With Syrian Official Omits Mention Of Criticism Of Pelosi.
A commenter at that site says:
Another commenter says it all:
Posted by: Hamburger | May 4 2007 9:18 utc | 1