Props to Condoleezza Rice

[deep]

Rice Plays Heavy to Seal Mideast Deal

I am not a big fan.

But I give praise when it is due.


And a few scraps for the Palasinians is long overdue.
Let's hope this is one step towards a more final resolution to a two state reality.

 

[nathan1977]

My my my said the spider to the fly...

McCain on The Daily Show lobbying against torture...
Rice building credibility for herself overseas...

Might we be seeing a McCain/Rice bill in 08?

 

[deep]

i am not a fan of Sharon

but this is good news

Peres quits Labor Party, backs Sharon
Sharon's Kadima meets, endorses peaceful Palestinian state

Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Posted: 1:58 p.m. EST (18:58 GMT)


JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres resigned Wednesday from the Labor Party and endorsed his former rival, Ariel Sharon, in the upcoming race for prime minister.

While supporting Sharon, Peres will not run for another term in the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

At a news conference, Peres said he had talked with Sharon about the peace process and economic development of a triangle that includes Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian regions.

Sharon has a lot of blood on his hands..

but if we can get to a Palestinian / Israeli settlement agreement.

I will be grateful that we are moving away from a day when terror is deemed necessary by so many.

 

[Dismantled]

i am not a fan of Sharon

but this is good news




Sharon has a lot of blood on his hands..

but if we can get to a Palestinian / Israeli settlement agreement.

I will be grateful that we are moving away from a day when terror is deemed necessary by so many.

 

[deep]

Shimon Peres

'To put country before party'
Shimon Peres, THE JERUSALEM POST Dec. 1, 2005

The following is a full transcript of former prime minister Shimon Peres's remarks Wednesday announcing his exit from party politics.

Today is a very difficult day for me. But I ask myself, what is the main thing that faces Israel in the next four years? I have no doubt that it is the peace process.

I ask myself, how can I contribute in the coming years? My answer is by promoting the peace process, which will bring economic prosperity and social justice. I believe that in the current political structure advancing the peace process is possible only through a coalition for peace and development; and in my view the man best suited to lead such a coalition is, based on proven results, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

I spoke with Mr. Sharon and I am convinced that he is determined, as I am, to continue with the peace process, and restart it immediately after the elections. He is open to creative ideas for achieving peace and security. I decided therefore to support his election and cooperate with him to realize these goals.

This has not been an easy conclusion for me. But I found myself faced with a contradiction between the party of which I am a member and the requirement of the political situation.

Without ignoring the deep connection that I have to the Party's historical path and its members, I must prefer the more urgent and greater consideration.

I learned from my mentor David Ben-Gurion to put country before party. My party activity has come to an end, whereas my contribution to peace, development, and the Negev and Galilee is yet to be complete. I have decided to dedicate the next years to contribute to the supreme effort of making peace between our neighbors and us, while keeping the peace within us.

In my conversations with Mr. Sharon, we explored the possibility of expanding the scope of peace and development. In addition to the road map, we will work to create an economic triangle of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians that may enjoy a special status in the European Union.

We will work to mobilize substantial international, government and private sources for the region's economic development. We will open discussions with the United States to secure the region against the Iranian threat and fanatical terror.

My concern, which is deep, and my hope, which is great, compel me to a decision that is neither simple nor mundane. But I cannot escape it.

It has not been easy, but I have made my choice.

 

[deep]

more good news



Likud on the way out

peace settlement on the way in?

Israeli defense minister quits Likud to join Sharon


Dec 11, 3:29 PM (ET)



By Jeffrey Heller

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz joined Ariel Sharon's new Kadima faction on Sunday, sowing further disarray in the ruling rightist Likud Party abandoned by the prime minister in the run-up to a March general election.

Mofaz is a popular figure among many Israelis for his tough handling of a 5-year-old Palestinian uprising, although opinion polls had predicted he would lose a Likud leadership race on December 19 to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Sharon founded centrist Kadima after quitting Likud last month over a rebellion by hawkish legislators who condemned Israel's Gaza pullout as a surrender to Palestinian militants. Mofaz cited a sense of solidarity as reason for his defection.

"The combination of the prime minister and myself, which has proven itself so persuasively over the past few years, is the right and proper combination to lead Israel over the next few years," Mofaz told reporters.

Mofaz said he would remain defense minister if Sharon wins re-election in the March 28 poll. Army Radio quoted the prime minister as saying he was "pleased with Mofaz's decision."

Surveys predict Likud finishing a distant third to Kadima and the center-left Labour Party.

Netanyahu, who polls show to be the frontrunner to take the Likud helm in a party primary election next week, said Kadima's politicians were bringing "unacceptable norms" into Israeli politics.

"It's all a matter of trade for the (Kadima) politicians who have no morals, no principles and no ideals," Netanyahu told reporters at his Tel Aviv headquarters on Sunday.

On Wednesday, Tzachi Hanegbi, acting Likud chairman and a pillar of its right wing, abandoned the party for Kadima. Veteran statesman Shimon Peres threw his support behind Sharon shortly after being ousted as Labour party leader last month.

REAL PEACE

Since announcing he was leaving Likud, Sharon has reaffirmed his commitment to a U.S.-backed peace "road map" that charts reciprocal steps leading to the creation of a Palestinian state in territories Israel captured in a 1967 war.

But he has said there could be no progress toward peace until the Palestinian Authority fulfilled the road map's call to dismantle militant groups behind anti-Israeli violence. The Palestinians rule out such a crackdown as risking civil war.

Israel has failed to meet its own road map requirement of halting the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, fuelling Palestinian suspicions that Sharon plans to deny them large swathes of occupied land where they seek statehood.

Drawing diplomatic battle lines with Sharon, new Labour chief Amir Peretz said on Sunday if he were elected prime minister, he would achieve a peace accord within four years.

"I will act to reach a permanent settlement between Israel and the Palestinians with the utmost speed," Peretz told the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

"We must have a permanent settlement in hand by the end of the government's term."

 

[melon]

Netanyahu, who polls show to be the frontrunner to take the Likud helm in a party primary election next week, said Kadima's politicians were bringing "unacceptable norms" into Israeli politics.

"It's all a matter of trade for the (Kadima) politicians who have no morals, no principles and no ideals," Netanyahu told reporters at his Tel Aviv headquarters on Sunday.

You'd swear this was the Republican Party making comments about the Democrats. Looks like shameless political smearing knows no boundaries.

Melon

 

[A_Wanderer]

One would also believe that the GOP is responsible for dirty politics worldwide

 

[deep]

Israel Ready for Talks With Hamas’

Hisham Abu Taha, Arab News


GAZA CITY, 5 January 2006 — Israel is ready to open talks with Hamas if it wins the Palestinian general election as long as the movement lays down its weapons, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said yesterday. Israel has in the past always steadfastly refused to meet representatives of the group and still refuses to recognize the Jewish state’s right to exist.

But with Hamas fielding parliamentary candidates for the first time in the Jan. 25 elections, Mofaz indicated that a meeting was possible if Hamas ended its campaign of violence. “Israel is prepared to have negotiations with Hamas if it wins the elections and if it announces that it has disarmed,” army radio reported the minister as telling a group of college students.

Israel has consistently voiced opposition to Hamas’ participation in the election, arguing that it should be barred under the terms of the Oslo accords which brought the Palestinian Authority into being for its refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist.

This could be good news.

We have the Taliban elected to office in Afghanistan.

Democracy, people choose their own leaders.