One lame duck 'embarasses' another
Israel's eventually resigning Prime Minister Ehud K. Olmert bragged today about how he got President Bush to order Condi Clueless to abstain on that UN vote last Thursday night. The Security Council resolution passed on Friday calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza was a source of embarrassment for US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who helped prepare it but ultimately was ordered to back down from voting for it and abstain, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday.That just might be the first thing Olmert has done right during his entire term in office.
Rice did not end up voting for Resolution 1860, thanks to a phone conversation he held with US President George Bush shortly before the vote, Olmert told a meeting of local authority heads in Ashkelon as part of a visit to the South.
Upon receiving word that the US was planning to vote in favor of the resolution - viewed by Israel as impractical and failing to address its security concerns - Olmert demanded to get Bush on the phone, and refused to back down after being told that the president was delivering a lecture in Philadelphia. Bush interrupted his lecture to answer Olmert's call, the premier said.
America could not vote in favor of such a resolution, Olmert told Bush. Soon afterwards, Rice abstained when votes were counted at the UN.
By the way, I guess that confirms the Weekly Standard story that's linked here.
If you think I've done lots of things right on this blog (and I'm sure you do), and if you haven't voted in the last 24 hours, then please go vote for my blog, Israel Matzav, as the Best Midsize Blog in the 2008 Weblog Awards. Voting ends at 10:00 PM GMT on January 13. Every vote counts!
UPDATE 3:37 PM
More on this story here.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:56 AM
4 Comments:
Those clowns make the Marx Bros (see Animal crackers) look like professional diplomats.
I haven't had a lot good to say about Olmert... but he stuck one to Condidhimmi. Heh!
I don't think this reflects well on Olmert either.
a) A success would have been getting the US to support Israel's right to defend itself intead of an abstention, so this is at best a limiting of damage.
b) While I feel no pain at Rice's embarrassment, Olmert acted childishly. A mature politician would not publicly say "Ha, ha, got your boss to turn against you!". He would simply get the job done, instead of boasting in public about how tough he is.
Alan,
I agree with you.
And it's fortunate that Olmert won't be in office in three weeks because the US is really pissed off about this. It's in all the papers this morning and I heard it on the news last night but did not get to post it.
Post a Comment
<< Home