And Just What Will She Do?

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she’s going to address the expansion of Israeli housing in areas the Palestinians view as their own….. my question is, just exactly what is she gonna do?

“Look, it’s a problem, and it’s a problem that we’re going to address with the Israelis,” she said. Rice arrived in Israel late Saturday in the most recent of a series of trips to push the Palestinians and Israelis towards a peace deal.

Exactly how, at this point in events, is the United States government going address this issue?

Threaten Israel with consequences and risk pissing off a very vocal portion of the GoP voter base?

– this close to an election that’s about as likely as sitting down for tea and crumpets with Ali Khamene’i and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard ain’t it?

Maybe during a friendly telephone call to Ehud Olmert mention talk of scaling back on some of that $10 billion in aid America sends over?

– see above.

What the American government will do is talk about the issue, and then spout empty political rhetoric, and then do exactly nothing – because that is all they can do.

UPDATE: Now we know

Rice stressed that the United States won’t regard any settlements Israel build as permanent.

Well, that should certainly slow them that the United States means business.