Rice Rewrites History

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James Taranto at OpinionJournal.com points out that in her Joint Press Conference yesterday, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice apparently repeats the pro-Palestinian line--and gets the history wrong. Rice says:

First, for the first time since 1967, Palestinians will gain control over entry and exit from their territory.

This of course is wrong and very misleading. Does Rice really believe that before 1967 the Palestinians did have entry and exit control over that--or any--territory?

As Taranto points out:

Before World War I, the entire region, including Israel and the disputed territories, was part of the Ottoman Empire. Between World War I and 1948, the British administered it. In 1948 the Arabs went to war rather than accept a U.N. partition of Palestine that would have created Jewish and Arab states. After that conflict and until 1967, Egypt controlled Gaza and Jordan controlled the West Bank.

It's not just mindboggling--it is downright scary to think that we have Rice applying all sorts of pressure on Israel to make concessions when she does not have an idea of the history of the area, and by extension an appreciation of what is really going on.

Of course, it could be a simple slip of the tongue. But that is unlikely. Just look at how she starts off:

Good morning. Two months ago, Israel and the Palestinian Authority took an unprecedented step on the road to peace with the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, returning control of that territory to the Palestinian people.

There she is saying that in disengaging, Israel is "returning control of that territory to the Palestinian people." Bad enough she buys into the "Palestinian people" meme, but from the start she is saying that Israel is returning control, as opposed to giving control.

Such a basic error does not instill confidence.

Actually, I remember something similar. There is an article I read many years ago in the Sunday New York Times magazine section about a meeting with a president where it became obvious that the president was not aware that Jordan was originally part of Palestine. That president was Jimmy Carter.

He also wanted to play an active role in the Middle East.

Is there a pattern here?

See also Clinton Preaches, Rice Overreaches

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