If it was true you would think Olmert would keep it to himself.
Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert is getting the word out that he made George w. Bush rein in Condi Rice on the recent UN Security Council vote castigating Israel and calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza war.
From Reuters AlterNet:
Olmert said he had demanded to talk to Bush with only 10 minutes to spare before a U.N. Security Council vote Thursday on a resolution opposed by Israel calling for an immediate ceasefire.
"He gave an order to the secretary of state and she did not vote in favor of it -- a resolution she cooked up, phrased, organized and maneuvered for. She was left pretty shamed and abstained on a resolution she arranged," Olmert said.
...State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, who was with Rice at the United Nations last week during debate on the U.N. resolution, said the remarks were "just 100 percent, totally, completely untrue."
In his remarks, Olmert described his call to Bush while the U.S. president was giving a speech in Philadelphia.
"I said, 'I don't care. I have to talk to him now,'" Olmert said, describing Bush, who leaves office on Jan. 20, as "an unparalleled friend" of Israel.
"They got him off the podium, brought him to another room and I spoke to him. I told him, 'You can't vote in favor of this resolution.' He said, 'Listen, I don't know about it, I didn't see it, I'm not familiar with the phrasing.'"
Olmert said he then told Bush: "'I'm familiar with it. You can't vote in favor.'
The question is why would Olmert throw out these humiliating allegations right now? One reason is he's got nothing to lose, he's on his way out next month anyway. Another reason is that Israel at this point has milked the Bush administration for everything it can get out of them anyway, so Israel has nothing to lose. A third reason and one, I suspect, that's more relevant is that Olmert desperately wants to make his side look tough and dominant to Israeli voters who, on February 10th, are now expected to elect Benny Netanyahu to take over.
Reuters says a number of Arab sources confirm that Rice had committed her support to the resolution but backed down at the last minute after a call from Bush.
I'd love to know what Bush must think now about his old pal Olmert and his ally Israel right about now. It's the old "you play ball with me and I'll stick the bat right up your ass," Israeli-style.
Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert is getting the word out that he made George w. Bush rein in Condi Rice on the recent UN Security Council vote castigating Israel and calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza war.
From Reuters AlterNet:
Olmert said he had demanded to talk to Bush with only 10 minutes to spare before a U.N. Security Council vote Thursday on a resolution opposed by Israel calling for an immediate ceasefire.
"He gave an order to the secretary of state and she did not vote in favor of it -- a resolution she cooked up, phrased, organized and maneuvered for. She was left pretty shamed and abstained on a resolution she arranged," Olmert said.
...State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, who was with Rice at the United Nations last week during debate on the U.N. resolution, said the remarks were "just 100 percent, totally, completely untrue."
In his remarks, Olmert described his call to Bush while the U.S. president was giving a speech in Philadelphia.
"I said, 'I don't care. I have to talk to him now,'" Olmert said, describing Bush, who leaves office on Jan. 20, as "an unparalleled friend" of Israel.
"They got him off the podium, brought him to another room and I spoke to him. I told him, 'You can't vote in favor of this resolution.' He said, 'Listen, I don't know about it, I didn't see it, I'm not familiar with the phrasing.'"
Olmert said he then told Bush: "'I'm familiar with it. You can't vote in favor.'
The question is why would Olmert throw out these humiliating allegations right now? One reason is he's got nothing to lose, he's on his way out next month anyway. Another reason is that Israel at this point has milked the Bush administration for everything it can get out of them anyway, so Israel has nothing to lose. A third reason and one, I suspect, that's more relevant is that Olmert desperately wants to make his side look tough and dominant to Israeli voters who, on February 10th, are now expected to elect Benny Netanyahu to take over.
Reuters says a number of Arab sources confirm that Rice had committed her support to the resolution but backed down at the last minute after a call from Bush.
I'd love to know what Bush must think now about his old pal Olmert and his ally Israel right about now. It's the old "you play ball with me and I'll stick the bat right up your ass," Israeli-style.
Olmert's decision to give Bush and Rice a kick in the teeth should serve as a real object lesson to Obama on dealing with an Israeli head of state. When you're finished shaking hands, best you count your fingers.
1 comment:
Mazel Tov!
Post a Comment