[Times-UK] Richard Beeston - Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. Secretary of State, arrived in London Thursday to brief Tony Blair and Margaret Beckett, the Foreign Secretary, on her attempt to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. The diplomatic push is seen as a move by the Bush Administration to win acceptance for America's wider policy in the Middle East. There seems little hope of a breakthrough after more than six years of violent confrontation. There are suspicions that America's diplomatic initiative is little more than window dressing to show the world, particularly Arab public opinion, that it is doing something. Washington's main focus remains trying to resolve the disastrous situation in Iraq and to blunt what it regards as the increasing power in the region of Iran.
2007-01-19 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive