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"Mike and Jon, Jon and Mike—I've known them both for years, and, clearly, one of them is very funny. As for the other: truly one of the great hangers-on of our time."—Steve Bodow, head writer, The Daily Show
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"Who can really judge what's funny? If humor is a subjective medium, then can there be something that is really and truly hilarious? Me. This book."—Daniel Handler, author, Adverbs, and personal representative of Lemony Snicket
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"The good news: I thought Our Kampf was consistently hilarious. The bad news: I’m the guy who wrote Monkeybone."—Sam Hamm, screenwriter, Batman, Batman Returns, and Homecoming
May 07, 2007
Message: U.S. Government Still Mind-Numbingly Cynical
The Atlantic just published a 26,000,000-word long article about Condoleezza Rice. At one point it mentions U.S. attempts to push Palestinian society into civil war (sub. req.):
In the fall of 2005, as part of a new push for democracy in the Middle East, Rice insisted that legislative elections be held in the Palestinian territories...To Rice’s surprise, the elections in January 2006 were won by Hamas...Eager to reverse the results of the election, Rice decided on a new plan of action that resulted in fighting in the streets of Gaza between Hamas and Fatah gunmen. The plan, which she developed after speaking to President Bush, was to put pressure on the Hamas government by providing the Palestinian security forces loyal to Abbas with training, intelligence, and large shipments of supplies and new weapons, paid for by the United States and by Saudi Arabia. The hope was that Hamas, faced with a well-armed, well-trained force of Fatah fighters, might be cowed into moderating its positions or relinquishing the power it had won through elections. Alternatively, Hamas might be pressured into an escalating series of gun battles, in which case Abbas, as head of the Palestinian security forces, would have an excuse to crush Hamas by force...
Hamas won the clashes, which left more than 140 Palestinians dead, and the Hamas government remained in power.
A few pages later, the author describes following Rice on her recent trip to Jerusalem:
I find a copy of Friday’s State Department Rapid Response sheet lying on the ground. “Message: Americans do not want to see Palestinians killing Palestinians. Palestinians should be living in peace among themselves and with Israel,” the document instructs, quoting Rice.
And indeed, that's exactly what Rice said in a February interview with Al Arabiya.
Message: Condoleezza Rice most loathsomely unctuous human being on earth.
Posted at May 7, 2007 12:55 AM | TrackBackThis was a special edition of the Atlantic published in several hardbound volumes?
Posted by: David Goldfarb at May 7, 2007 02:33 AMHey, she's just doing her job.
Posted by: abb1 at May 7, 2007 04:29 AMRice wants people to believe that she's calling any shots at all. This seems to be a weak ruse meant to shield the White House from scrutiny. I don't think Condi has yet taken credit for anything unless it was meant to draw attention away from the WH.
Palestine is over these asses heads anyway. The people fighting over there are more sane and intune with reality than the Bush Administration, and that's no joke!
Posted by: at May 7, 2007 09:00 AM