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Hillary Clinton holds rare meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman

By Laura Rozen | The Envoy – Tue, Feb 7, 2012

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman at their last meeting in Jerusalem …

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with hundreds of foreign leaders in the course of her daily work as Obama's top diplomat. Yet her meeting Tuesday at the State Department with her Israeli counterpart, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, was a rare occasion: it was their first face to face meeting in well over a year. This D.C. visit is only Lieberman's second visit to Washington since he became Israeli Foreign Minister three years ago; he and Clinton last met in Jerusalem in September 2010.

Why the distance? Israeli domestic politics is one reason. Lieberman, who is also the leader of a right wing pro-settlements political party, is viewed as a political competitor on the right by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in whose government he serves. And it's not always clear Lieberman's expressed positions are in lock step with those of the prime minister. Then there's the fact that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has often stood in as an almost de facto foreign minister to Washington-a perhaps more comfortable if not unproblematic interlocutor given his pro-peace process positions are not quite in line with Netanyahu's.

With peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians talks more or less on hold, however, such nuances were of less import, and Clinton met with Lieberman Tuesday in a visit that analysts surmised was likely more about the photo grip and grin than substantive discussions.

"The meeting is the message," a former U.S. diplomat told Yahoo News Tuesday. "There is no reason not to meet with him, but it doesn't achieve very much. Then again, lots of diplomatic meetings don't achieve very much."

"There is only one Israeli Clinton is more frustrated with than the Foreign Minister, and that's the Prime Minister," former State Department Middle East peace negotiator Aaron David Miller told Yahoo News Tuesday. "Combined with Obama's comments Sunday that the United States is 'in lock-step' with the Israelis, this is making a virtue out of necessity."

Still, Miller said, "I can't imagine there's much of a substantive agenda. .. This is clearing the in-box."

Lieberman is also due to meet Tuesday with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.), Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), and members of the House Foreign Affairs panel led by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida).

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91 comments

Peter • 3 mths ago
they're getting ready for the war in Iran
Joe • 3 mths ago
Hillary = sucker!
Constantine XI • Indianapolis, Indiana • 3 mths ago
The reason that Hillary Clinton has so few meetings with the pugnatious Israeli foreign minister is that she usually does his bidding by taking his orders via phone or email.
Anthony • Minneapolis, Minnesota • 3 mths ago
wonder which thinks there balls are bigger?
Adam L • 3 mths ago
Hil came by to speak with Avi-here's how it went-
Hil-So Avi, hows it going with those pali and that problem
Avi- why there is no problem at all-the palis are great...i think every citizen should own one! here take a few yourself, we have pleanty!
Honey Badger • 3 mths ago
Har, har! Poor Hillary! She must have lost the toss...
American Sheeple • 3 mths ago
Aww look at our puppet masters.
truman • 3 mths ago
rozen- your delusional....problems as usual -without your gossip to create them
fred • 3 mths ago
I'm sure Israel wants advice on internal struggles from the (Jerry Springer) crowd.................rock-on
Weeping Willow • 3 mths ago
Show Mrs Clinton the door. She'll only muck this up.
Jim • 3 mths ago
As the president said, sometimes you have to talk to your enemies.
Jl • 3 mths ago
He is telling her to be sure to wear a helmet and carry a radiation detector when in IRAN.
WAYNE • Cleveland, Ohio • 3 mths ago
the smart thing to do get out of the middle east dont talk to anyone or have meeting dont give anyone any us aid just leave them to do there own gig! they would go into shock and then figure out how to selltle their own problems! if they go to war cnn can film it and it will make great tv! because 35 years from now the same crap is going to be going on!!!!!!!!!!!!
Γοργώ • 3 mths ago
Lieberman: "Israel will build 5,000 more housing units in East Jerusalem."
Clinton: "Oh, please, why not build 10,000? Of course, we shall pay for them."
- Take that 3 mths ago
  Lieberman: "Israel will build 5,000 more housing units in East Jerusalem."
  Clinton: "Why not build 10,000? Maybe that'll get Abbas to the negotiating table."
  Lieberman: "That's never going to happen. He knows he can't guarantee peace if he makes a deal, so he'll never quit stalling. But more houses means more Israelis, so he's defeating himself every day."
- Adam L 3 mths ago
  how funny that you confuse israel with every other arab country with their hands out. i guess you had no idea that israel leads the world in technology, science/medicine. you think israel is bleeding the US tax payer, think again, stupid
israel • 3 mths ago
the only thing rare about the meeting is the blood. Israel owns the Federal Reserve Bank and the Federal Reserve Bank owns you, to the tune of $23,000.00 for each and every US citizen.
Bill • Indianapolis, Indiana • 3 mths ago
He knows she is a viper!!
- A Yahoo! User 3 mths ago
  I don't think her daughter will age as well.
- john 3 mths ago
  he also knows that she & her communist,non-american,muzzie boss cannot be trusted.
- Esteban 3 mths ago
  Nazi John, it's funny how all those Jewish bankers at Goldman Sachs keep pouring millions into Obama's "Muslim" and "Socialist" candidacy... Obama must be some kind of genius to fool them.
More

Reply
smokinantz • 3 mths ago
hidden agendas everywhere in that country
Alex Moore • Stamford, Connecticut • 3 mths ago
Oh geez....I thought it was with the other Israeli Foreign Minister...."Independent" Sen. Joe Lieberman....and yes I do live in CT......thank God the turn coat is he is finally retiring........
Stevo • Lanham, Maryland • 3 mths ago
With Abbas and the PLO joining in harmony with HAMAS, a terrorist organization, the peace process is dead, so this meeting is just stating the obvious. However, the Israelis will probably strike Iran within the next 4-6 months. How can they wait? Iran has openly declared its hatred of Israel and Jews (as Hitler did), believes as is stated in the Koran that Allah loves a Muslim who kills a Jew, and believes that the Missing Imam cannot return unless there is an Armageddon. Let's put it this way, if you could drop an A-Bomb on Berlin in 1939, would you?
Michael • Minneapolis, Minnesota • 3 mths ago
did they share a cigar??
- jimm 3 mths ago
  He definitely shared his with her
- gofer 3 mths ago
  Was it wet!

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