Is it just a plain old conference — or is there other stuff going on at this hyper-well attended assembly organized this week in Herziliya?
Gideon Rachman of the Financial Times reports in his blog that the following mix of Luke Skywalkers and Darth Vaders (many more Darth Vaders) attended a meeting at a coastal resort near Tel Aviv:
Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (well, he’s local)
Likud Leader Benjamin Netanyahu (he’s local too)
Defense Minister Amir Peretz (another local)
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (another local)
Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England (replaced Wolfowitz)
Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns (has been acting simultaneously as Condi’s Deputy, Counselor, and UN Ambassador lately)
Presidential Candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney
Presidential Candidate and U.S. Senator John McCain (via satellite)
Presidential Candidate and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Presidential Candidate and former U.S. Senator John Edwards (via satellite)
Richard Perle (needs no qualifiers)
Former CIA Director and Committee on the Present Danger Chairman R. James Woolsey
Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar (probably the only European neocon)
Read Gideon’s good piece. The conference sounds a lot like a war party — and if not that at least a cheerleading party for the idea of militarily confronting Iran.
— Steve Clemons
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