Condoleezza

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Scrambling to shape an agenda for a fall peace conference, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pressed Israeli and Palestinian leaders yesterday to start tackling the core issues impeding settlement of their decades-old conflict. But Israeli officials told Rice it was too soon to discuss "final status" issues, in part because their negotiating partner, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, has yet to prove capable of stopping attacks on Israel by armed Palestinian groups.

Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met yesterday with Syria's foreign minister at a summit here, the first formal encounter between the two countries' top diplomats in more than three years. Neither side claimed a major breakthrough, but U.S. officials suggested that other meetings with Syria could follow, an indication that the Bush administration might be shifting its policy of trying to isolate a Damascus regime that it considers a sponsor of terrorism.

Congress does not need to capitulate to President Bush over the war funding bill, even though the votes to override his veto are lacking. There is no urgency yet, for one thing. It's the president who is being obstinate. Let him, over the next three weeks or so, demonstrate that he understands the need for a change in policy - then he can be presented with the money he wants. Even then, it might make a good deal of sense for Congress to approve a short-term funding measure.

JERUSALEM -- After three days of intensive diplomacy in the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced yesterday that the Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to meet every two weeks to discuss day-to-day issues and "a political horizon." The agreement steps up the pace of face-to-face discussions between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, but falls well short of starting substantive negotiations on the core issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

JERUSALEM -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began a new round of Middle East peace talks yesterday with an acknowledgment that her three-month-old initiative is starting slowly and going back over basic issues that divide Israel and the Palestinians. Rice, who met yesterday with top Israeli and Palestinian officials, described her method as a "step-by-step" approach that requires spending time on such tasks as sitting patiently with leaders from both sides to learn their views.

JERUSALEM -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice played host to an Israeli-Palestinian summit yesterday, but the session produced little beyond promises to uphold past agreements and to meet again soon. Rice characterized the three-way gathering with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as "useful and productive," though her summary of the two-hour, 20-minute session was largely a checklist of commitments previously made by the two sides.

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration will seek $10.6 billion more in aid for Afghanistan, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday, in another sign that the White House is deepening its commitment there in response to growing concerns over a Taliban resurgence. The proposal came in a week when the Pentagon announced plans to extend the deployment of 3,200 troops in the country and amid a broad rethinking of the U.S. strategy for Afghanistan. The new aid, which would be spent over two years, would mark a substantial addition to the $14 billion the United States has spent in Afghanistan since the invasion that toppled the fundamentalist regime five years ago. About $8.6 billion of the new spending would be used to train and arm Afghan troops and police, and $2 billion would be for reconstruction, including roads, irrigation, electricity and other infrastructure, Rice told reporters during a trip to Brussels, Belgium.

LUXOR, Egypt -- Seeking a fresh start for stalled Middle East peace efforts, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice won promises yesterday from the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to meet with her next month for their first discussion of a final peace deal in six years. Rice said the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and the Palestinian Authority's president, Mahmoud Abbas, had agreed to meet for "informal, broad discussions" about the final moves toward a Palestinian state in hopes that it will inject energy into talks that have been in near gridlock over initial steps.

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CAIRO, Egypt -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, touring the Middle East in an attempt to build support for U.S. goals and allies here, found herself on the defensive yesterday about the Bush administration's search for partnerships and its democratic reform efforts. Meeting in Cairo with ministers of eight moderate Arab governments, Rice was questioned on whether her desire to work with them masked an American desire to line up allies against the growing power of Iran. She was challenged by the Egyptian foreign minister and a dubious local press on whether President Bush's campaign of democratic reform was anything more than meddling by a country that doesn't accept election results it doesn't like.