News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) A new book written by Washington Post diplomatic correspondent Glenn Kessler details the way in which United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took control of US policy in the Middle East, and the techniques Rice used to pressure Israeli leaders to accept her plans for the area.  The book is called “The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy,” and was released on Tuesday.

As an example, Kessler writes that when Israeli troops surrounded Yasser Arafat’s Mukata compound in Ramallah, Rice called former Sharon Bureau Chief Dov Weissglass to Washington and told him to call off the siege.  Israel was hurting America’s ability gain international support for a war in Iraq, she said.  The war “is more important than Arafat,” Rice reportedly told Weissglass, warning him that “you’re making problems” with President George Bush.

According to Kessler, Rice was also largely responsible for then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s decision to expel Jews from Gaza.  Rice told Weissglass to make a move that would make the world say “look what Israel did, now the Palestinian have to do something.”  When Sharon suggested destroying three to five Jewish communities in Gaza, Rice told Weissglass “That’s not a breakthrough.  If you want a different reality, it has to be all of Gaza.”