Rice to Proceed, Cautiously, With Mideast Talks

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders this weekend in order to create a document of joint principles as a prerequisite to a peace conference expected later this month. For fear of killing the conference before it begins, the document will contain few hard-core specifics, instead focusing on a general push towards reconciliation, Reuters reports.

Analysts say the lowered expectations for Rice's third Mideast trip in six weeks are a nod to the failed 2000 Camp David talks, which fell apart over final status details. "This is something which is setting in motion what will be more detailed discussions," noted a former Clinton envoy to the Middle East. (More Condoleezza Rice stories.)