Buried on p.18 in WaPO: "Rice Denies Seeing Iranian Proposal in '03"

[flpoljunkie]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/07/AR2007020702408.html

Rice Denies Seeing Iranian Proposal in '03
Remark Adds to Debate on Whether U.S. Missed Chance to Improve Ties With Tehran

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 8, 2007; A18

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was pressed yesterday on whether the Bush administration missed an opportunity to improve relations with Iran in 2003, when Tehran issued a proposal calling for a broad dialogue with the United States, on matters including cooperation on nuclear safeguards, action against terrorists and possible recognition of Israel.

Although former administration officials have said the proposal was discussed and ultimately rejected by top U.S. officials, Rice, who was then national security adviser, said she never saw it.

"I have read about this so-called proposal from Iran," Rice told the House Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday, referring to reports in The Washington Post and other publications last year. "We had people who said, 'The Iranians want to talk to you,' lots of people who said, 'The Iranians want to talk to you.' But I think I would have noticed if the Iranians had said, 'We're ready to recognize Israel.' . . . I just don't remember ever seeing any such thing."

Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) cited a former Rice staff member, Flynt Leverett, who has publicly discussed seeing the proposal when he worked at the White House.

more...

[Jacobin]

1. Odd. China doesn't recognize Taiwan and we talk to them

"But I think I would have noticed if the Iranians had said, 'We're ready to recognize Israel.' . . . I just don't remember ever seeing any such thing."

I'm sick of this shit.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

6. hell, they talk to each other.

Condi has as much credibility as bill orarely on proper workplace behavior

[Tin Man]

2. Bahawahawa...There it is folks! Nations must recognize Israel before US will engage diplomatically

"We had people who said, 'The Iranians want to talk to you,' lots of people who said, 'The Iranians want to talk to you.' But I think I would have noticed if the Iranians had said, 'We're ready to recognize Israel.' . . . I just don't remember ever seeing any such thing."

And that's why the US won't engage Iran in discussions. It's all about Israel.

It's fucking ridiculous - the Administration represents Israel, not the US !!!!!!

[marmar]

3. More convenient amnesia for Dr. Rice....

I'm surprised she can even remember her name.

[Steven_S]

4. Once again it amounts to this:

Either she is a liar or the most incompetent person ever to walk the halls of power. Perhaps both.

[WinkyDink]

5. Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies.

[tanyev]

7. Kind of like all those warnings about Al-Qaeda before 9/11

DR. RICE: I would say that most of it was actually historical. It was not a catalogue of, they might use this, they might use this, they might use this, they might use that. That was not the character. But it was mostly historical, going back to things that happened in '97, things that happened in '98, kind of methods of operation in the embassy bombings, might they return to some of those methods. It was that kind of thing.

[snappyturtle]

9. You beat me to it! You answered my question...thanks. n/t

[snappyturtle]

8. Doesn't this ridiculous lack of memory remind you of

the time Condi was in front of another investigative hearing when she couldn't recall anyone thinking our enemies would fly planes into our skycrapers?

[Geoff R. Casavant]

10. It gets better --

This morning NPR played a snippet from a Rice interview where she specifically discussed the proposal she now says never happened.

Why do these folks never learn, their words are recorded and stored for a very, very, long time?