Rice Facialed By Egyptian

The U.S. diplomatic effort to deny the fruits of democratic victory to Hamas was met yesterday by a public snub from Egypt right to the face of Secretary of State Rice.

Egypt does not provide much aid to the Palestinians but has broad influence in the Arab world on Israeli-Palestinian issues, so the rebuff could hamper Rice's efforts to build a united front against the rise of Hamas. On Wednesday, Rice flies to Saudi Arabia, and she will address officials from Arab countries in the Persian Gulf region on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates.

The lengthy news conference with Aboul Gheit, filled with banter and cross talk by the two diplomats, underscored the daunting and at times contradictory challenge Rice faces as she tries to fashion an international response to Hamas's unexpected victory in Palestinian legislative elections. In effect, she urged pressure on the victor of an election she has hailed as fair and transparent, while seeking the support of an autocratic government that she has demanded must become more free.

That sentence--a beauty--starkly shows the moral relativism that is displayed to the world under the name of U.S. foreign policy.

Rice, who is to meet Mubarak on Wednesday, also met for 45 minutes with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who has wide connections in Hamas and the Palestinian world. She will also meet with Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief and has brought to her meetings the Treasury Department's top official on terrorist financing, Undersecretary Stuart Levey.

At the news conference, Aboul Gheit appeared to draw a distinction between the emerging Hamas-led cabinet and the Palestinian Authority presidency held by Mahmoud Abbas, suggesting that aid could continue indefinitely because Abbas wants to negotiate peace with Israel. "It is called the authority," he said. "And we support the authority," adding that Abbas "is the head of the authority, and his powers are still there."

The Egyptians may have devised a winning formula here. Making such a distinction would allow foreign aid to the Palestinian Authority under the pretext of supporting the presidency, not the Hamas-led cabinet.

The U.S. doubtlessly won't bite on this, but the Europeans might want to give it a try.

Update: The Saudis have joined the anti-Condi chorus:

"We wish not to link the international aid to the Palestinian people to considerations other than their dire humanitarian needs," the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met one-on-one for nearly 2 1/2 hours with King Abdullah.

Saud's statement put the kingdom at odds with the U.S. push to isolate the Palestinians, except for the provision of humanitarian aid. It came one day after Egyptian officials also told Rice that Islamic groups needed to be given time to evolve and accept Israel.