[Washington Post] Glenn Kessler - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice departs Friday on another difficult sales mission: winning the support of Arabs for President Bush's plan to boost troops in Iraq and seeking momentum for a renewed push on Middle East peace. Analysts and administration officials acknowledged that the moment is not auspicious for any sort of breakthrough. Abbas is battling against Hamas, which won legislative elections a year ago and refuses to renounce its goal of eliminating Israel. Abbas has suggested he will call elections to end the political crisis, but there is no guarantee that he will win. "The moon, the sun and stars are not in auspicious alignment," said Aaron David Miller, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center and longtime peace negotiator. "With due respect to anyone who wants to deal with this, it has 'loser' written all over it."
2007-01-12 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive