Conservative Mag: Bush And Condi Clash Over Middle East..."I've Never Seen Her So Angry"...

A difference in opinions regarding Israel's decision to fight Hezbollah has caused a rift in the relationship between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President Bush, leading the president to override her for the first time ever, according to the conservative online magazine Insight on the News, RAW STORY has found.

"State Department sources said Ms. Rice has been repeatedly stymied in her attempts to pressure Israel to end strikes against Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon. The sources said the secretary's trip to the Middle East last week was torpedoed by the Israeli air strike of a Lebanese village in which 25 people were killed," Insight reports.

"I've never seen her so angry," said an aide, according to Insight.

"The U.S. response to the Israeli-Hezbollah war was said to have divided both the administration as well as the family of President George W. Bush. At the same time, it marked the first time since Ms. Rice became secretary of state that the president has overruled her," Insight states.

Excerpts from the Insight article:

"For the last 18 months, Condi was given nearly carte blanche in setting foreign policy guidelines," a senior government source familiar with the issue said. "All of a sudden, the president has a different opinion and he wants the last word."

The disagreement between Mr. Bush and Ms. Rice is over the ramifications of U.S. support for Israel's continued offensive against Lebanon. The sources said Mr. Bush believes that Israel's failure to defeat Hezbollah would encourage Iranian adventurism in neighboring Iraq. Ms. Rice has argued that the United States would be isolated both in the Middle East and Europe at a time when the administration seeks to build a consensus against Iran's nuclear weapons program.

Instead, Ms. Rice believes the United States should engage Iran and Syria to pressure Hezbollah to end the war with Israel. Ms. Rice has argued that such an effort would result in a U.S. dialogue with Damascus and Tehran on Middle East stability.

LSB: First, though I frequently disagree with her, the bitch is DR. Rice – not Ms. Rice. She’s earned her title, so let’s give her that respect at least. Secondly, her frustration is understandable. After all, wasn’t she the one who tutored Shrub on the world’s geo-political situation while he ran for office? Rice, no doubt, has learned from her predecessor (Colin Powell) that the Prez ALWAYS get the last word.