Bush Loses Another From Inner Circle

(NEWSER) - The George W. Bush administration is planning a reunion in honor of the former president’s nascent policy institute, the New York Times reports. Condoleezza Rice, Karen Hughes, speechwriter Michael Gerson, and White House counsel Dan Bartlett will meet the former president next week in Dallas for dinner and a day of discussion about the goals of Bush’s project. Dick Cheney will not be present. More»

Rice focuses on being an educator, writing books

(NEWSER) - Condoleezza Rice is headed back to Stanford, ready for a new challenge and harboring no obvious regrets. "I'm an educator who took a detour," she tells Washington Post op-ed columnist David Ignatius, who hears echoes of Dean Rusk, LBJ's embattled secretary of state. "I have no desire to be shadow secretary of state." More»

State Dept. 'counseled against' Syrian trip

(NEWSER) - Jimmy Carter plans to visit leaders of Palestinian extremist group Hamas in Syria next week despite warnings by the State Department that the rendezvous violates the Bush administration’s policy of isolating terrorist organizations, Reuters reports. Carter has scheduled talks with Khaled Meshaal, who heads Hamas’ Syrian branch and claims responsibility for suicide bombings targeting Israel. More»

Former diplomats call for more leadership, talks with Hamas

(NEWSER) - As Condoleezza Rice prepares for next month's Mideast peace summit, a group of former diplomats have warned her that the opportunity may be squandered by poor planning and weak strategy. The Guardian reports on an unprecedented letter to Rice from top former State Department figures, saying that "the chances of a perceived failure. . . are profound" for US-led talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. More»

Rice talks with Syrian Foreign Minister about border security

(NEWSER) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice conferred with her Syrian counterpart Thursday in an unexpected half hour sit-down that ended a two-year cold-shoulder between the Bush administration and a state it considers a sponsor of terrorism. Rice asked asked Sryia's help in restricting the flow of foreign fighters across the Syrian border into Iraq. More»