And I thought I had deadline pressure...
I just heard Condoleeza Rice on the news saying (and I'm paraphrasing here) that she hopes to get the fighting in Israel over by the end of the week.Now that's pressure!
I've heard news reports that people are very unhappy with Rice's performance in the middle east last week, but I wonder what anyone can have done? These are big, big issues, and I'd love to be a fly on the wall, trying to understand just what it is that people think will change it. Chances are pretty high it comes down to personal influence - and leadership abilities.
posted by Simon @ 6:56 pm
6 comments
6 Comments:
Well she could have called for a cease-fire, for starters... there's no doubt that we're dealing with big and complex issues here, but the way not to deal with them is by bombing civilian populations.
...and last time I checked, Condi Rice hadn't bombed any civilian populations!
Seriously though, point taken. But it's one thing to decide what needs doing, and another thing to actually accomplish that in someone else. Therein lies the leadership.
Well the USA has shown a real lack of world leadership by not demanding the obvious need for a cease-fire from Israel. By not making this call (along with EVERY OTHER NATION in the world, other than the UK and Canada (shame)), the USA gave Israel carte blanche.
The USA was the one nation who could have stopped this war from expanding and killing hundreds of more civilians. I don't necessarily blame Condi -- as far as I'm concerned, she's just an idiot -- but the USA's administration is guilty, as they usually are, of another huge mess in the Middle East.
It's all going to come crumbling down when civil war breaks out in earnest in Iraq. I fear for everyone there. And I despair for this USA administration.
I feel it is a gender thing - Condi is trying to influence male dominated culture. I don't think she can be taken seriously. At her G8 conference, she played the piano. It might have been interesting if she could have picked some pieces with some middle eastern flavor to use as a relationship building piece. She may not know the language but she may have done something with music.
That's a really good point, QueenAnne. Particularly in the middle east, the same words spoken by a woman have a different effect than those spoken by a man. Sad but true.
Unfortunately, from what I have heard, one thing you don’t want to do in this sexist culture is send in a woman—or at least not one who is clearly going to side with one party (Israel) if you want to broker peace.
Post a Comment
<< Home