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Israeli Prime Minister Brags About Giving Orders to Bush

Posted by Steve Benen, Washington Monthly at 8:03 AM on January 13, 2009.


The U.S. Secretary of State helped write and "fully supports" a resolution, and then suddenly decides she doesn't want to vote for it?
olmertandrice
Safe to say, this picture wasn't taken too recently ...

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Last week, there was a key vote on a United Nations resolution on a Gaza ceasefire. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice worked on crafting the specific language of the measure, and rallied other countries to back the resolution. It was obvious, given her efforts, that Rice supported both the measure and its goals.

And yet, when it came time for a vote, the United States abstained. What happened? Apparently, Ehud Olmert made a phone call.

In an unusually public rebuke, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel said Monday that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had been forced to abstain from a United Nations resolution on Gaza that she helped draft, after Mr. Olmert placed a phone call to President Bush.

"I said, 'Get me President Bush on the phone,' " Mr. Olmert said in a speech in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, according to The Associated Press. "They said he was in the middle of giving a speech in Philadelphia. I said I didn't care: 'I need to talk to him now,' " Mr. Olmert continued. "He got off the podium and spoke to me."

Israel opposed the resolution, which called for a halt to the fighting in Gaza, because the government said it did not provide for Israel's security. It passed 14 to 0, with the United States abstaining.

Mr. Olmert claimed that once he made his case to Mr. Bush, the president called Ms. Rice and told her to abstain. "She was left pretty embarrassed," Mr. Olmert said, according to The A.P.

In response, a State Department official said Rice wanted to abstain, and it was all part of the plan.

But that's very hard to believe. The U.S. Secretary of State helped write and "fully supports" a resolution, and then suddenly decides she doesn't want to vote for it?

At a State Department briefing yesterday, spokesperson Sean McCormack was asked "what message does it send" when Rice fails to vote for a resolution she supports and helped write. McCormack responded, "Well, you're -- you're certainly welcome to your interpretation."

As non-answers go, that one actually tells us quite a bit.

Digg!

Tagged as: war, bush, israel, palestine, middle east, attacks, un, gaza, rice, olmert, mccormack


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that is hard to believe, isn't it?
Posted by: luzmejor on Jan 13, 2009 10:27 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Imagine an American president being forced by the leader of a foreign nation to change the vote of his own secretary of state on important legislation!

This is staggering news about our supposed Republic.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: that is hard to believe, isn't it? Posted by: Razional Thinker
» RE: that is hard to believe, isn't it? Posted by: Mrs. Jefferson
Oh! But Israel, the tail...
Posted by: Quannah on Jan 13, 2009 12:16 PM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
doesn't wag the American dog!

Yeah, right.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Bush lovers
Posted by: sonofloud on Jan 13, 2009 12:49 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
America may be more than ready for George W. Bush's presidency to end, but not all countries are eager to see 43 fade off into the sunset. Perhaps no country will miss Bush more than Israel, which, many speculate, launched its recent assault on Gaza to take advantage of the president's support. ("Israel is probably the only place on earth where Bush can still get a standing ovation," says one scholar.) In Africa, Bush enjoys an 80 percent approval rating—he is beloved for his efforts to fight the spread of AIDS, and his role playing peace maker between the Arab north and African south. The Sudanese routinely name their children George Bush. Rounding out the Bush lovers, for reasons economic and geopolitical, are Colombia, the Ukraine, and Georgia.

http://www.thedailybeast.com
/cheat-sheet/item/countries-that-still-love-dubya/farewell/

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Bush lovers Posted by: Mrs. Jefferson
Punk
Posted by: godsbreath64 on Jan 14, 2009 5:26 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Bitch

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Charles
Posted by: chrlscoburn on Jan 14, 2009 6:37 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Remember, Condi and Colin were both promised membership at the Bush/Cheney Country Club; weren't they surprised when they were issued valet uniforms!! Seriously though, we're surprised that AIPAC OWNS BushCo and a huge part of the Federal government? C'mon, when it comes to Israel, Dubya is more the "WIPER" than the "Decider!"

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Hillary a Puppet Too
Posted by: curiousdwk on Jan 14, 2009 9:06 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
And Hillary will be a puppet of Israel and AIPAC also. There will be no Obama Change with respect with our sordid involvements int he Middle East. No hope for Peace there or even any chance of offering a human response to the destruction of the Palestinians.

At times like these, I'm ashamed to be an American

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So much for "The Decider."
Posted by: monkeywrench on Jan 14, 2009 9:35 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Olmert says, "jump!" and Bush says, "How high?" The Saudi royal family issues a command to our vice president a couple of Thanksgivings ago, so Darth Cheney jumps on a plane, misses the feast, and rushes to Riyadh.

This is leadership?

All the chest-pounding, and strutting in a trick-or-treat flight suit with codpiece, and "We'll smoke 'em out" crappola, was nothing more than smoke-n-mirrors. What we've actually had for "leaders" over the last eight years are a couple of scared little boys; child-men who lash out with other people's lives, and torture, because it is THEY, not us, who need to be protected from "the big bad wolf."

And, of course, they've left one of those wolves, Bin Laden, out there while claiming they couldn't find him with the most sophisticated intelligence-gathering system in history.

Why? Because the Saudis told them to.

Pathetic.

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thedirtydemocrat
Posted by: Thedirtydemocrat on Jan 14, 2009 10:02 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
It seems you all are just blowin smoke and doing nothing. If you want to see a change be one. Call your Senators and Representatives and get the hell angry or shut up and suck it up.

The murder of children is not part of war, it is just murder of children. Please get the stop started now.

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I can't help but think that Israel...
Posted by: peacelf on Jan 14, 2009 10:42 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
...has something on the U.S., some damning information, some secret, some hold on the U.S. that prevents political leaders from challenging Israel. Something beyond AIPAC and The Knights of Israel, or maybe some Skull and Bones crap.

I don't subscribe to conspiracies, but this blind support confounds anyone with a modicum of human rights sympathies.

Peace

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» It is called GUILT... Posted by: djnoll