Condi's Crisis In-Box Is Full

CBS News State Department reporter Charles Wolfson recently traveled with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Turkey and the Middle East.

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How many crises can Condoleezza Rice juggle at one time? Now may be the time we find out.

There is Turkey's threat to mount a cross-border invasion into Northern Iraq to go after the PKK, a move both the Bush administration and the Iraqi government strongly oppose. There is President Pervez Musharraf's suspension of the democratic process in Pakistan on the eve of a scheduled election. There are the Israelis and Palestinians who are having a difficult time drawing up a declaration of what each side wants to see as publicly stated objectives for an international peace conference, which Rice will host in a few weeks in Annapolis, Md.

All this at a time when Rice is hearing howls of protest from her own foreign service officers about the prospect of being told they must serve in Iraq or face termination, because there may not be enough volunteers to staff America's largest embassy.

Talk about having your front-burner issues and relegating North Korea and Iran to the back burner, at least for the moment.

Crisis management has always been part of the job description for any secretary of state, and for Rice it's no exception. She's dealt with the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea and that has been made more difficult because both are charter members of President Bush's "Axis of Evil."

But these have been ongoing concerns which seem to rise and fall on a pretty steady basis in their demand for the secretary's time and attention. Although both are of extreme importance, both also have their own negotiating tracks which seem to smooth out the points of crisis in each case.

Iraq of course is ever-present and almost always at the top of Rice's to-do list. New problems like Georgia's declaring a state of emergency and suspending democratic rule pop up and, though troubling, do not rise to the level of importance that Pakistan and Turkey demand.

What makes the current moment different is that the temperature has increased so rapidly on so many issues at one time.

Turkey has been fighting its own war on terror against the PKK (which both Washington and Ankara consider a terrorist organization) for a long time. It has conducted some cross border operations before but there has been a level of tolerance for what's taken place - till now. The current concern puts Rice and Mr. Bush in the most unpleasant position of being caught between two allies - Turkey, a NATO partner, and Iraq, the country the Bush administration has "adopted" as its own prime example of how to create a democracy in the Middle East.

The prospect of Pakistan coming unglued, however, is a bigger problem. President Pervez Musharraf has been a valued partner in the global war on terror even if he hasn't always pursued all of the bad guys Washington thinks may be hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas. The fact that he has suspended democratic procedures and declared a state of emergency is bad enough; if Musharraf can stay in power only by tossing aside democracy, then the Bush administration's support for him will be revealed as support for a dictator. If, on the other hand, the Pakistani leader can cut a political deal to stay in power by holding elections and resigning from his post as leader of the army, then Washington will breath a sigh of relief and know the more than $10 billion in aid it has showered on Musharraf since 9/11 will not have been in vain.

In testimony this week on Capital Hill, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said, "We strongly counseled against emergency rule, but Pakistan's leadership did not follow our advice." More significantly, he added that "President Musharraf has been indispensable in the global 'War on Terror.'"

The bottom line is that the "Crisis" in-basket at the White House and the State Department is now overflowing. And it is not a favorable development that Rice must spend a great deal of time on Turkey and Pakistan at the same time she is trying to cap off a renewed effort to work the equivalent of a foreign policy magic act: broker a peace accord between Israelis and Palestinians.

[trueprophet]

RON PAUL FAVORS NON-INTERVENTIONIST FOREIGN POLICY
All of the other presidential candidates wants to continue our illegal police action in Iraq indefinitely, and they do not rule out a preemptive (nuclear) first strike against Iran. Conversely, Ron Paul voted against our (undeclared) war in Iraq, which was sold to us with lies. The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it. We destroyed a regime hated by our direct enemies--the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them. The war in Iraq has cost more than 3,500 American lives and almost a trillion dollars. We need a leader in the White House who will ensure this never happens again. Both Jefferson and Washington warned us about entangling ourselves in the affairs of other nations. Today, we have 750 foreign bases and troops in 130 countries. We are spread so thin that we have too few troops defending America. And now, there are new calls for a draft. We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, or we can refocus on securing our borders against illegal aliens who are invading us from the South. No war should ever be fought without a Declaration of War voted upon by the Congress, as required by The Constitution. Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from an unelected, foreign body, such as the United Nations. Too often, we give foreign aid and intervene on behalf of governments that are despised. Then, we become despised.

[trueprophet]

RON PAUL WILL RESTORE U.S. SOVEREIGNTY
All of the trade deals and world government organizations, which all of the presidential candidates support (except Ron Paul), such as the ICC, NAFTA, GATT, WTO, and CAFTA, are all a major threat to our nation''s sovereignty. They transfer power from our government to unelected foreign elites. The ICC wants to try our soldiers as war criminals. Both the WTO and CAFTA could force Americans to get a prescription to take herbs and vitamins. The WTO has forced Congress to change our laws to meet their needs, and not our own. If anything, the WTO makes trade relations worse by giving foreign competitors a new way to attack U.S. jobs. The NAFTA superhighway, being built by a Spanish company, is just one part of a plan to erase our borders and create the North American Union, a single nation State like the EU, out of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, with a new, unelected bureaucracy and money system. Forget about controlling immigration under the NAU scheme. There won''t be any borders anymore, or a free America. Our limited, constitutional government will be gone forever. Let''s not forget the UN either. It wants to impose a direct Carbon Tax on us. Ron Paul successfully fought this move in Congress last year, but if we are going to stop ongoing attempts of this world government body to rule over us, we need someone in the White House who knows how to say "No." We must withdraw from any organizations or treaty that infringes upon our nation''s sovereignty.

[trueprophet]

THEY DON''T CALL HIM "DOCTOR NO" FOR NO REASON
Congressman, Paul never votes for any Bill which he feels is not authorized by The Constitution, regardless of what it might be named. He feels most Laws should be made at the local or State level: the way our Founders intended. We are a Republic, and we have plenty of State lawmakers who are more than willing to make Laws which best serve their constituents. "Ron Paul is one of the easiest people in Congress to work with, because he bases his positions on the merits of issues," says Barney Frank, who has worked with Paul on efforts to ease the regulation of gambling and medical marijuana. "He is independent, but not ornery." Paul has made a habit of objecting to things that no one else objects to. In 2001, he was one of only three House Republicans to vote against the USA Patriot Act. He was the sole House member of either party to vote against the Financial Antiterrorism Act. In 1999, he was the only naysayer in a vote in favor of casting a medal to honor Rosa Parks. Nothing against Rosa Parks. Paul also voted against similar medals for Reagan and Pope John Paul II. He did, however, offer $100 of his own money to help pay for Reagan''s medal, and invited others in Congress to match his offer, but not one Member took him-up on it. Instead, Congress spent YOUR money. He not only routinely opposes resolutions that are unconstitutional, he votes against Bills which presume to advise foreign governments how to run their affairs.

[trueprophet]

WHAT''S RON PAUL''S MESSAGE?
The main thing Ron Paul''s campaign has done thus far is to serve as a clearinghouse for voters like me who feel unrepresented by the Fascisct (globalist Republicans) and their Socialist comrades in crime (globalist Democrats). They''re actually one and the same. It''s all a phony, poorly staged left-right paradigm. Most people, though, are too distracted, dumbed-down, or outright brainwashed by mainstream media, which endlessly regurgitates scientifically-crafted streams of information aimed at keeping their eyes closed to the realities of the world around them, that they fail to recognize this. Those currently in power, and those being groomed to take [major] political power, are preselected by the "global elite," and whomever is eventually elected, will ultimately, serve their will, and not ours. People on the right and those on the left have many differences. Maybe irreconcilable ones. But they have a lot of common beliefs too, and their numbers and anger are of a considerable magnitude. No matter what happens in 2008, I personally believe Ron Paul will influence the national conversation about what the role of the federal government is, how much power the government should have over our lives and how much liberty we should give up for security. These are issues that, frankly, no one else is talking about as seriously and sincerely as Ron Paul. What''s for sure is that his growing army of supporters like me will be a force to be reckoned with in 2008.

[roger3815]

Given that most of these crisis were engineered by either her boss''s or her own incompetence, I find it difficult to feel sympathy. I can only hope these fools do not start world war three before they are purged from office in 2009.

[knyghtwolf]

MCvet, not sure why you said what you said but in the interest of fair play, every time greed hooks up with politics & big business, someone wins, someone loses, and that is fair balance to begin with but when someone tips that balance by creating situations where ALL rights, privilges, and support systems go south, you are just begging for a dynastic cycle. When you start building a smaller cage to keep an animal safer, the animal may not see it the same as you. I have seen first hand the effects of nuclear radiation and what it can do, I''ve have had the honor of seeing how much we can actually do to others and believe me, new ideas are being thought up as I write this. How would you have it if not a time for change? bush and the bush regime need to be brought up on criminal charges and the whole world knows it. bush has BETRAYED the constitution, the people represented BY the CONSTITIUTION, and the very future of our country, way of life or other wise? If you think the average person in any other country wants war within its borders, you need to get out and live a little. Supporting bush and its policies is the real INSANITY.

[trillion1]

I can''t think of a worse time in our history. We have a larger debt. than all administrations combined, we are losing on two battle fronts and our military is broken, the basic needs of all people, gas, food and home heating continue to go up while earnings are down due to the devalued dollar and we have a congress that totally ignores the will of the people.

[mcvet]

Um...can anyone point to a single crisis over the last few years that Rice has actually handled "successfully"?
Seriously.
Has she accomplished anything at all since she became Sec. of State?


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Posted by shingles1 at 01:42 AM : Nov 11, 2007
+ report abuse

Ummm??? Nope! Can''t think of ONE single thing... not ONE!! Sieg Heil Bush!

[mcvet]

I have been doing a lot of research on Ron Paul; the man has much to say about how bad our way of life has fallen on the way side AND has very sound ways of FIXING it. IF he is the man he proclaims he is, this is the kind of man that I would want working for me since he has repeatedly said that he wishes to work FOR THE PEOPLE, OF THE PEOPLE, AND BY THE PEOPLE in rebuilding what we have lost to slappy the shrubmonkey and it''''s sidekick lil'''' dikkie cheney. Ron Paul has my support and my ENTIRE family support as well. The MAN is on the level folks, perhaps it is time for a serious change of politics.


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Posted by knyghtwolf at 04:46 AM : Nov 11, 2007
+ report abuse

I don''t get it. I to have looked into what this person stands for and all I see is someone who whats to tear down EVERYTHING that was built on the New Deal. That was the foundation for all we have today, that was the policy from which this nation became a global superpower. Maybe you should rethink your insantity here.

[bluestardad]

LAST WEEK THE VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY WAS SNUCK INTO INDIANAPOLIS TO GIVE A SPEACH AT A CLOSED SECURE SITE AND THE NEWS AND PEOPLE OF THE STATE DID NOT EVEN KNOW HE HAD BEEN THERE UNTIL HE HAD FLOWN AWAY!

HOW SAD IS THE FACT THAT AMERICA HATES THIS ADMINISTRATION SO BADLY THAT THE VERY VICE PRESIDENT HAS TO BE SNUCK INTO A RED STATE AND HIDDEN FROM VIEW FOR FEAR OF HIS MISREABLE LIFE FROM THE VERY PEOPLE HE IS SUPPOSE TO BE REPRESENTING!

THINK ABOUT THAT AMERICA!

THESE NEOCONS AND OIL REPRESENTATIVES DO NOT REPRESENT AMERICAS INTREST AND THEY KNOW IT...

THEY SHOULD BE TRIED FOR WAR CRIMES!