Olmert the Diplomat

"Olmert Says He Made Rice Change Vote"
A11, Tuesday 1/13/09
By Mark Landler

While it’s not politic to publicly humiliate the Secretary of State, it does make for juicy – and uninformative – reporting. In this case, Olmert described in a speech how he forced the hand of Rice to abstain from a UN vote, which she later says was her intention. Olmert also describes how his phone call to Bush “in the middle of giving a speech,” got the American president “off the podium” to speak to him. That he used a speech to say this is surprising, even for a man consistently with his foot in his mouth. It also could speak to the resentment Israel feels towards Rice over her years of ill-conceived pressuring.

Meanwhile, about the resolution itself, readers are told only that it passed 14-0 and Israel felt it didn’t provide for its security. Why? Other questions that come to mind are: was this a Security Council resolution? Was it a Chapter VII resolution? [These resolutions are binding and provide for enforcement.] What was the number of the resolution?

Answers the Times neglected to provide:

Israel felt it “isn’t practical” and “will not be honored” by Hamas and other Gazan terrorist groups. It was a Security Council resolution, #1860, and it wasn’t Chapter VII.

This article symbolizes the hope of many for a better reality: Olmert stops speaking and the Times starts reporting.