[Washington Post] David Ignatius - What's America's strategy in the Middle East? Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this week sketched a new framework based on what she calls the "realignment" of states that want to contain Iran and its radical Muslim proxies. Rice sees a new American effort to create a de facto alliance between Israel and moderate Arab states against Iranian extremism. However, "the reception will be very skeptical" among some Arabs, cautioned one prominent official. The Bush administration's thinking about realignment helps explain why it has resisted engaging Syria and Iran. As Rice put it, "if you concentrate on engaging Syria and Iran, you may lose the chance to do the realignment."
2007-01-26 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive