Actually this was a spectacular week.

For the first time in decades, stars are beginning to align in the
middle east - and the first faint glimmers of hope for real, true peace
between longtime enemies are beginning to sparkle. Just enough.

North Korea is negotiating. It's how they negotiate - they threaten
and defy. It's been their negotiating tactic since forever. Nothing
new. Sure, they're dangerous, but no more or less so than they were
last week.

Dr. Rice is impressive. She speaks well for the United States, to the
world.

This American is very, very proud of her.

It was ironic that during Condoleeza Rice's first trip abroad as our
new Secretary of State this week two major peace initiatives broke
down. First, Israel cancelled a meeting with representatives of the
new government of Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas militants launched a
mortar attack on a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip. Then North
Korea withdrew from 6-nation peace talks aimed at negotiating a halt
to the North Korean's nuclear weapon program.

Ironic, indeed ... but it would have been even more ironic had real
progress toward peace resulted from (or been coincident with) Rice's
trip abroad. After all, it is she, more than just about anyone in the
Bush Administration, who must be blamed for Administration policies
that have destabilized the Middle East, alienated significant allies,
and led the US into a another unnecessary war that it doesn't seem to
be able to get out of cleanly.

Condi Rice, even though she isn't one of the neoconservative warhawks
who planned this war and led the nation by the nose into it, by virtue
of her position as the President's National Security Advisor, had more
access to the President than probably anyone else in our government.
She controlled the President's access to the information he needed to
make decisions of great import and scope. If the President made his
decisions based on flawed or filtered information, can he really be
faulted for the outcome of events that followed those decisions?
Bush's biggest mistake may turn out to be his failure to get rid of
the people (like our former Secy of State, Colin Powell) who served
him loyally and faithfully, while rewarding those who served him
poorly (like our Secretary of Defense).

Former CIA Director George Tenet fell on his own sword in an attempt
to appease those who were calling for investigations into "how this
could've happened" and to deflect criticism of other members of the
Bush cabinet (Condi and Rumsfeld). Basically, Tenet was to take the
fall so that those higher-up would escape the fate they deserve.

The mistakes and misjudgments of this Administration go to the top ...
at least as high as Condi Rice ... and if the buck doesn't stop on the
President's desk, it's sitting on the carpet right outside the Oval
Office.

Charles