NYT: Rice Admits U.S. Underestimated Hamas Strength

[kskiska]

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged Sunday that the United States had failed to understand the depth of hostility among Palestinians toward their longtime leaders. The hostility led to an election victory by the militant group Hamas that has reduced to tatters crucial assumptions underlying American policies and hopes in the Middle East.

"I've asked why nobody saw it coming," Ms. Rice said, speaking of her own staff. "It does say something about us not having a good enough pulse."

Immediately after the election, Bush administration officials said the results reflected a Palestinian desire for change and not necessarily an embrace of Hamas, which the United States, Israel and the European Union consider a terrorist organization sworn to Israel's destruction. But Ms. Rice's comments seemed to reflect a certain second-guessing over how the administration had failed to foresee, or factor into its thinking, the possibility of a Hamas victory.

Indeed, Hamas's victory has set off a debate whether the administration was so wedded to its belief in democracy that it could not see the dangers of holding elections in regions where Islamist groups were strong and democratic institutions weak.

more…
http://nytimes.com/2006/01/30/international/middleeast/30diplo.html?hp&ex=1138597200&en=113cc013282442e2&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[rexcat]

1. This seems to be a chronic situation with...

this fucking administration!

[coldiggs]

4. we realy need to redue are inteligence in this country

[BattyDem]

7. I'm sure the intelligence was fine ...

the problem is that BushCo didn't pay attention to it! Osama, WMDs, Katrina, global warming ... it doesn't matter how many facts they get or how accurate the intelligence is if they choose to ignore it. :eyes:

[henslee]

17. She freaks me out.

[saigon68]

24. failed to understand the depth of hostility

Her brain is in a Glass Jar

[coldiggs]

2. this was already posted

[BrotherBuzz]

16. Posted twice in GD

This is the first posting in LBN. It's all good.

[wtmusic]

3. Wow...and they were a little off-track with the WMDs, too

and 9/11...and flowers and candy...

Don't the Japanese commit hari-kari before they get this deep into things?

[bemildred]

5. As with the Iraq debacle, it WAS predicted well beforehand.

I do like the euphemism "democratic institutions weak", which seems to mean "honest elections were held".

[saltpoint]

6. The Mideast ain't easy for a gal named Kindasleazy.

The woman is an over-dressed expert on Soviet Russia.

I'm kind of disappointed that she is in public service and a lot more disappointed that she's working for such a corrupt, dark administration.

This is a woman who wants power in the worst way. Huge yuck factor with Condi.

[pdurod1]

8. Flashback: a former democratic president getting a Palistinian and Israeli

to shake hands. This guy worked his ass off to get this to happen. Now the world is at each others throats.

[frylock]

9. i don't think anyone could have imagined...

<eom>

[dchill]

10. Damn, there goes my line...

:)

[phusion]

11. hahaha this is such bullshit

They just keep shoveling it out, don't they?

[Canuckistanian]

12. The PDA for that day probably read...

...you guessed it, "Hamas determined to win in the Palestinian Elections"

[Orangepeel]

13. Jesus! *I* saw it coming!

I wasn't even paying much attention until I saw a news story that reported the US was spending millions of dollars in support of Fatah. That's all it took for me to know that Hamas would win in a landslide.

(Of course, I also knew that Iraq wasn't a threat and that the Iraqis wouldn't throw roses at American invaders :eyes:)

[Spazito]

14. Geez, it seems the only thing they can forsee is their next..

fucking check from the lobbyists! Other than that, all is a big surprise to this adminstration.

[gunsaximbo]

15. Tat bunch or morons have underestimated

EVERYONE and EVERY group. They underestimated the manpower for the invasion of Iraq. They underestimated the forces required to win the peace. They underestimated the reaction of the Iraqis. They underestimated the strength of Ham-as.

Sounds to me like this group of morons is up to the requirements of the job. Time for them to go.

GunsAximbo

[rpannier]

18. Gee...they were wrong AGAIN!!!

What a surprise. We're now at the point where it's LBN when they do something right.

[TaleWgnDg]

19. Well? What's the surprise? None, period.

.

Well? What's the surprise? None. And, it's not that the Palestinians are pro-Hamas; instead, it's because the majority of Palestinians who voted didn't like where they were as a result of decades of Arafat's Fatah Party! This isn't news; it's common knowledge!

"Hamas did not win because people loved Hamas, but because people were taking revenge against the past years of Fatah
rule." -- Adel al-Helo, Gaza shopkeeper
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Middle_East/10014305.html

What further f*ck-up can George Walker Bush and Company "bring on" in the middle east?

The most important issue now is: How to unstir the Israeli-Palestine (Hamas) pot? George Walker Bush isn't up to it. Never was. Never will be. Large p-e-r-i-o-d.


.

[DoYouEverWonder]

20. Anyone else who gets it wrong so often

would have long been out of a job.

[lakeguy]

21. dumbshit hasn't been able to get anything right his entire

life unless rich fat cats or the tax payers bail him out. it's an utter disgrace that the total failure that is bush was ever elected to any public office in the first place.

[0007]

22. Do we have to do the job ourselves?

Where do we get these wacko's? My God it's one apology after another every year these clown have been in office.
Then they tell us, "You're either with us or against us."

I gotta go and buy some duct tape and plastic!

Evidently Condi didn't check out junior's, "Road Map in the Middle East"


[Ben Ceremos]

23. "I've asked why nobody saw it coming," Ms. Rice said, speaking of her own

...sound familiar? "Noone could have imagined that anyone would fly passenger aircraft into a skyscraper." "Noone could have imagined a storm of Katrina's magnitude."

It is the new and not very improved version of the "Noone could have imagined" defense. SOP from BFEE. When are you going to impeach him?

[rodeodance]

27. WH is isolated in its bubble mentality.

[rodeodance]

25. WH has the excuse---well, gee no one saw it coming.

"I've asked why nobody saw it coming," Ms. Rice said, speaking of her own staff. "It does say something about us not having a good enough pulse."

........
Indeed, Hamas's victory has set off a debate whether the administration was so wedded to its belief in democracy that it could not see the dangers of holding elections in regions where Islamist groups were strong and democratic institutions weak.

[rodeodance]

26. its the old--'no one could imaginge planes crashing into the WTT" card.