Rice Goes 'Step By Step' on Mideast

Mar 26, 08:39 PM

Current Headlines: By Anne Gearan

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday she was taking it slow and steady as she assembles the elements for what might be a new Mideast peace plan.

"My approach has been, I admit, careful," Rice said, because too many past efforts have failed despite what seemed to be clear objectives. "It's been step by step. I have not been willing to try for the big bang."

Rice is midway through a shuttle diplomacy mission that evokes previous failed attempts to pull together Israelis and the Palestinians. It is her fourth trip to the region in as many months.

For several months, Rice has tried to put substance to the goal outlined by President Bush four years ago of an eventual independent Palestinian state. On this trip, Rice says, she is developing a common set of questions that both sides can use for discussions with her or on their own.

"If you're going to talk about a political horizon, you have to know what's blocking the horizon," Rice told reporters traveling with her.

U.S. officials are coy when asked whether Rice has something more ambitious in mind. But Rice made clear that a "big bang" -- such as a detailed program for peace that is written and backed by Washington or a Camp David-style summit -- is not coming soon.

The Bush administration may yet try that kind of bold stroke, but time is limited; Bush leaves office in 18 months.

On this trip, the top U.S. diplomat is meeting separately with Palestinian and Israeli diplomats and leaders who have moved farther apart since she began an intensified effort to improve the prospects for a final peace deal.

It is her duty, Rice said "to try and push forward, to try to move the ball forward, to try to move the Palestinian state forward."

Rice spoke after a lengthy private meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The delicate arrangements for her meetings in Ramallah illustrated the changed political landscape since Abbas agreed to govern hand in hand with Hamas, the militant Islamic group that the United States and Israel brand a terrorist organization.

The new government was formed last week under terms that do not satisfy international demands to recognize Israel, renounce violence and agree to abide by past peace deals.

U.S. law forbids direct contact with Hamas members, but Rice also chose not to see other Cabinet members.

She said the U.S. will decide case by case which non-Hamas officials to see, based largely on their records. Israel has taken a harder line, refusing all contact with a Palestinian Cabinet it considers tainted.

Israel has ruled out peace talks as long as an unrepentant Hamas is in charge, but says it will talk to the moderate Abbas on humanitarian and other matters.

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